Spring football leagues XFL and the USFL announced plans to merge on Thursday, meaning the teams could start playing each other as soon as next year.

The two football leagues issued a joint statement revealing their intention to merge.

“This historic combination will anchor professional spring football with substantial capabilities and resources to ensure future growth and continue to enhance the development of the collective players, coaches, and staff that are coming together,” the statement read.

Full statement: https://t.co/jBrNOFNUCp pic.twitter.com/I5VTC2loNn

— Ari Meirov (@MySportsUpdate) September 28, 2023

Former professional wrestler and actor Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson and his ex-wife, Dany Garcia, are currently the owners of the XFL, while Fox Corp owns the USFL, ESPN noted.

A statement from the USFL to players shared on X noted how proud the league is for what it has “built over the past two seasons.”

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“We have shown that the professional spring football model can work, and, in many ways, have done what many football and business minds thought was impossible,” it read.

“The USFL became the first spring league at scale in approximately 40 years to come back and play a second season,” it added. “Meanwhile the XFL defined its own success this past season cementing that the time is right to combine the USFL and XFL in a joint entity.”

The post noted that the “Regulatory review process is underway and does not come with any guaranteed outcomes.” The USFL also said it recognizes that this news creates many questions and promised to “communicate” when new information is available.

Last year, the USFL relaunched after initially operating for three seasons from 1983 to 1985 before folding, ESPN noted. The Johnson and Garcia-led ownership group, which purchased the XFL for $15 million from Vince McMahon in 2020, officially launched in 2023, Yahoo.com noted.

In testimony before Congress on Thursday, George Washington University law professor Jonathan Turley said the House has not presented sufficient evidence to impeach President Joe Biden.

Delivering his opening statement, Turley underscored the early timing of the hearing in the impeachment process, as House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) announced a formal inquiry into corruption allegations only weeks ago.

“I want to emphasize what it is that we’re here today for: this is the question of an impeachment inquiry,” Turley said. “It is not a vote on articles of impeachment. In fact, I do not believe that the current evidence would support articles of impeachment. That is something that an inquiry has to establish.”

Fox News legal analyst Jonathan Turley, one of the GOP's impeachment witnesses, says: "I do not believe that the current evidence would support articles of impeachment… But I also do believe that the House has passed the threshold for an impeachment inquiry." pic.twitter.com/x3cfYKwr5o

— Justin Baragona (@justinbaragona) September 28, 2023

Turley also said he believes the House “has passed the threshold for an impeachment inquiry into the conduct of President Biden, noting that three “inescapable facts” led him to such a conclusion.

He testified that Biden “has indeed spoken falsely” about foreign business deals, “was the focus of a multi-million dollar influence peddling scheme,” and “may have benefited” from that money.

“Now those facts should not be taken out of context,” Turley said, “they are merely allegations and they should not become presumptions of impeachable conduct.”

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Turley claimed he had not liked any president since James Madison because they all had been dishonest. The legal expert, who has participated in multiple impeachment inquiries dating back to the Clinton administration, also indicated his written testimony lays out “guardrails” to stop both major parties from abusing the power.

“Presidential impeachment shouldn’t be a closed question” and “shouldn’t be a rush to judgment,” he said. Turley added that “confirmation bias” should be avoided and encouraged people to stand together before they judge the evidence.

Three other witnesses were sworn in at the hearing on Thursday.

The Republican majority had forensic accountant Bruce Dubinsky and former Assistant Attorney General Eileen O’Connor. Democrats invited Michael Gerhardt, a professor of jurisprudence at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

At the beginning of the hearing, House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer (R-KY) said the committee would examine over two dozen pieces of evidence “revealing” Biden’s “corruption and abuse of public office.” He also pledged the Oversight Committee, while led by Republicans, will not pursue “witch hunts” based on “manufactured allegations, innuendo, and no real evidence.”

Democrats have dismissed the Biden impeachment inquiry as a politically motivated endeavor lacking evidence, while the White House has called on the media to assist in its efforts to ward off the investigation.