GOP’s McClintock says his vote won’t change against Mayorkas impeachment

Rep. Tom McClintock (R-Calif.) said Monday he would again vote against impeaching Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas. His move comes just a week after he became one of three House Republicans to oppose the historic effort to remove him from his Cabinet.

Asked in an interview on NewsNation’s “On the Hill” how he planned to vote Tuesday when the House meets, McClintock said, “Well, the Constitution hasn’t changed since last week, so my vote… remains unchanged.” He is expected to try to redo the impeachment vote that failed last week.

“These are the same reasons I strongly oppose Donald Trump’s sham impeachment. It would loosen the standards for impeachment and ensure that every time the White House is occupied by one party and Congress by the other, , that guarantee will become a permanent part of national life,” McClintock said.

McClintock said he has not faced any pressure from his party or from House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-Louisiana), who lost an impeachment vote last week without enough support.

House Minority Leader Steve Scalise (R-Louisiana), who missed last week’s vote because he is undergoing cancer treatment, returned Tuesday to give Republicans the vote they need to push impeachment past the majority threshold. expected to be provided.

“microphone [Johnson] When he called me and I explained why, he was very respectful of that. That’s it. “I’m not under any pressure,” he said, adding, “Maybe it’s because, as Churchill said, they can’t kick me.” I’m not the kind of person to get kicked. ”

McClintock was joined last week by two House Republicans in opposing an impeachment vote. They are Rep. Ken Buck (R-Colorado), who announced his retirement earlier, and Rep. Mike Gallagher (R-Wisconsin), who announced his retirement on Saturday. He did not seek re-election — just days after he broke with the party and voted against Mr. Mayorkas’ impeachment.

Mr McClintock said in an interview that he was “devastated” by Mr Gallagher’s decision but had no intention of following in his footsteps.

“I was shocked by Mike’s announcement, because I think he is a very talented and principled person. I don’t agree with him on everything, but he is a very thoughtful person. We need to take his views very seriously because that’s the kind of person he is, and he supports them, and I think we need more people like this in the House. I am.

McClintock also said he would support former President Donald Trump’s candidacy, although he acknowledged that Trump was not his first choice. It was unclear whether Trump would oppose re-election.

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NewsNation is a cable news channel launched in 2021 by Nexstar Media Group, which owns and operates dozens of local television stations across the country and acquired The Hill in fall 2021.