A military veterans group called Common Defense, which claims 350K members, has issued a demand for an apology from Rep. James Comer, the powerful Chair of the House Oversight Committee. The organization called Comer’s “unacceptable attack” on the “character of the late Beau Biden” — President Biden’s deceased son — a “repugnant abuse of power.”
Unacceptable that @RepJamesComer would attack the character of the late Beau Biden, who served with courage and distinction.
— Common Defense (@commondefense) March 1, 2023
We’re calling on Rep. Comer to issue an apology to the Beau Biden family, and our military families, for disparaging his service and legacy. pic.twitter.com/hzZp7ikA3v
Comer had expressed lament that Beau Biden hadn’t been “prosecuted” before he died, referencing an old investigation into campaign contributions for Joe Biden’s unsuccessful 2008 presidential run.
Common Defense called Comer’s comments a “baseless denigration of a military veteran who served our country honorably,” adding that Comer’s smear was “abhorrent and disgusting.”
Hunter Biden may be fair game in the dysfunctional free-for-all circus that is polarized US politics, but going after the President’s other son, Maj. Beau Biden, an Iraq war veteran and Bronze Star recipient, is evidently more risky political turf to tread. (There has been no equivalent blowback in defense of Hunter Biden.)
Beau Biden died of a brain tumor in 2015 at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in Bethesda, Maryland. His potential exposure to deadly toxins in Iraq, while not definitively linked to his death, inspired the PACT (Promise to Address Comprehensive Toxics) Act, as the Common Defense demand mentions.
The White House agrees with Common Defense, with White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre characterizing Comer’s comments as “ugly” and “inappropriate.”
Comer background:
James Comer is a Republican politician who currently serves as the U.S. Representative for Kentucky’s 1st congressional district. He was born on August 19, 1972, in Tompkinsville, Kentucky.
Comer earned his Bachelor’s degree in Agriculture from Western Kentucky University in 1994, and he later earned his Master’s degree in Public Administration from WKU in 1996.
Before entering politics, Comer worked in the agriculture industry and served as the Commissioner of Agriculture for the Commonwealth of Kentucky from 2012 to 2016. He was also a member of the Kentucky House of Representatives from 2001 to 2011, where he served as the Minority Floor Leader from 2009 to 2011.
Comer was first elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in 2016 and has been reelected in subsequent elections. In Congress, he has served on several committees, including the House Oversight and Reform Committee, where he is now Chairperson, the House Committee on Education and Labor, and the House Committee on Agriculture.
Comer is known for his conservative views on issues such as gun rights, immigration, and fiscal responsibility.
