House GOP chairman introduces resolution to censure IRS head

WASHINGTON (AP) — A top House Republican introduced an election-year resolution Wednesday censuring the IRS chief, marking the latest step in the GOP's war against the agency over its treatment of conservative organizations.

The four-page resolution calls for the resignation or firing of John Koskinen, claiming the commissioner has failed to cooperate with a congressional investigation of the agency.

Democrats have derided multiple congressional GOP investigations of the agency as ungrounded partisan attacks aimed at stirring up conservative voters.

Last year, the Justice Department ended a two-year investigation, saying no IRS official would face criminal charges and that it had uncovered no evidence that agency officials acted out of political bias against conservative groups.

GOP leaders are focused on using Congress' dwindling, pre-election legislative calendar to finish must-pass spending bills, and few think the Senate would be able to muster the two-thirds majority constitutionally required to remove a federal office-holder.