In stunner, House GOP bid to impeach Mayorkas fails

House Republican efforts to impeach Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas failed in embarrassing fashion on Tuesday when three Republicans joined Democrats in what would have been the second-ever impeachment of a Cabinet member. Ta.

The 214-216 vote was a stunning defeat for Republicans, who have been under sustained pressure from the right to impeach senior Biden officials, but the party is unsure which side to focus on.

The failure occurred because of a surprise surprise on the floor by Rep. Al Green (D-Texas). He had just had surgery and showed up suddenly, wearing hospital scrubs and no socks. According to NBC — Vote against the bill.

Republicans came to the vote with two expected Republican “no” votes from Rep. Ken Buck of Colorado and Rep. Tom McClintock of California, but then a third House Republican, Mike・Rep. Gallagher (Republican, Wisconsin) also voted. He opposes impeachment. Following the unexpected “no” vote, many of his Republican colleagues gathered around Mr. Gallagher for a long conversation before the vote closed.

Then, a fourth Republican, Rep. Blake Moore (R-Utah), vice chair of the Republican conference, flipped the vote to “no” seconds before voting ended, prompting the conference to return the bill to a vote. This became a procedural measure to make it possible. The floor will come later.

Republicans have said they hope to revisit the bill if House Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-Louisiana), who is undergoing treatment for cancer, is able to attend.

“House Republicans fully intend to return the article of impeachment against Secretary Mayorkas to the floor as soon as a passing vote is received,” a spokesperson for Speaker Mike Johnson said on Platform X, formerly known as Twitter.

In a statement after the defeat, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) encouraged Republicans to abandon the effort altogether.

“This baseless impeachment should never have proceeded. It faces bipartisan opposition and legal experts have loudly argued that it is unconstitutional. House Republicans take border security seriously “If so, we should abandon these political games and instead support a bipartisan national security agreement in the Senate to ensure DHS has the enforcement resources it needs,” said DHS spokeswoman Mia Ehren. Berg said in a statement.

Republicans had accused Mr. Mayorkas of violating immigration laws by not detaining enough migrants and of “deliberate and systematic refusal to abide by the law.”

No administration has ever detained all illegal immigrants, and immigration law experts who reviewed the claims found Mr. Mayorkas did not violate any laws.

The Republican Party also accused him of “betraying the public’s trust.”

The impeachment attempt was preceded by a multifaceted, months-long investigation into the Biden administration’s border policies by the House Homeland Security Committee, which was launched late last year by Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.). The move was an attempt to force a vote to impeach Mayorkas. He is widely credited with bringing the initiative to life and ensuring that the issue was debated in the House of Commons.

In a press conference after the vote, Greene characterized the vote as simply speeding up the process.

“We had a very thin majority, so we knew it was going to be a close one. Of course, my colleagues who voted against it, I think they’re going to hear from their constituents.” she said.

“So this isn’t over yet and it’s still possible to bring Steve Scalise back… We’re looking forward to having him back, and we’re looking forward to him saying a firm ‘yes.’ I am.”

The failure of this vote could also bode badly for those who want President Biden to be impeached. President Biden is the subject of a separate impeachment inquiry by House Republicans based primarily on his son Hunter Biden’s overseas business dealings. Moderate Republicans agreed to formally authorize the investigation to give legal weight to the party’s request, but some Republicans said they had not yet seen evidence of impeachable offenses by the president.

Mr. Mayorkas’ impeachment was similarly met with skepticism over his failure to present a convincing argument.

Mr. McClintock writes: 10 pages of notes His Republican colleagues “failed to identify the impeachable offense committed by Mr. Mayorkas, in effect stretching and distorting the Constitution.”

Buck reiterated these claims in an op-ed, aligning himself with Democrats as a policy disagreement.

“The Biden administration’s failure to rein in an open border is a national disgrace and will leave a stain on President Biden’s legacy. But the truth is, this is a policy masked by impeachment.” “This is a discrepancy,” he wrote.

House Homeland Security Committee Chairman Mark Greene (R-Tenn.) argued that the impeachment vote is an important lever of power.

“I hate to stand here and publish these articles, but I have exhausted all other options. Our oath to the Constitution now requires us to fulfill this solemn duty. “Secretary Mayorkas has clearly refused to abide by the law. His actions in refusing to abide by the law have led to the deaths of our fellow citizens, and he is no longer fit to continue his job,” Green said at the beginning of the debate. Ta.

The move highlights the Republican-led House’s approach to the border issue as it rejects a bipartisan Senate agreement created to stem the flow of migrants in favor of impeachment.

Greene was the second Republican to speak during the debate, speaking about an “invasion” at the border. She painted immigrants as criminals and held Mayorkas personally responsible for all fentanyl deaths.

“These are people who are completely evading U.S. authorities and roaming within American communities, assaulting, raping and murdering Americans,” Green said.

But Democratic leaders accused House Republicans of turning away from the Senate deal even before it was made public.

“Instead of pursuing bipartisan compromise, strengthening border security, advancing humane solutions, and doing their job, they are now doing nothing without any allegations of impeachable crimes. We’re impeaching the Secretary of Homeland Security. There’s not a single one,” House Minority Whip Katherine Clark (D-Mass.) said on the House floor.

“Impeaching ministers without evidence of high crimes or misdemeanors is a violation of public trust here.”

Republicans defending the provision have done little to address the constitutional issues in the case other than to push back against the argument that they are simply removing the secretary over policy differences.

“People often say that this is a difference in policy, but that is not the case. In order to carry out the mission with fidelity, it is okay to have a different approach. Blocking it is effectively an impeachable crime,” said Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Calif.).

Still, he criticized flaws in the Republican approach and insisted that President Biden is ultimately responsible for the border.

“This is so frustrating because today we’re actually impeaching a pawn. We’re impeaching a henchman of the president. His secretary is being impeached for doing something wrong. He is actually guilty as alleged. But in reality, he is only part of the high crimes and misdemeanors of the President of the United States,” Issa said.

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D.N.Y.) later accused Republicans of targeting Mayorkas as a “Plan B” impeachment that “satisfies their quest for revenge.”

“So you brought up articles of impeachment that are not based on reality. You brought up articles of impeachment for one simple reason: you really want to impeach Joe Biden. , he was instructed to do by his puppet master, former US President Donald Trump.

“You really want to impeach Joe Biden, but you understand that it’s politically unpopular.”

Republicans were furious at the defectors, warning that they had handed Mr. Biden and his Homeland Security secretary an unearned political victory.

Rep. Troy Neals, Republican of Texas, left the chamber, calling it “disgraceful.”

Democrats, meanwhile, were overjoyed by their surprise victory, saying it was a sign of Republicans’ inability to govern effectively and that they had no clear message to convey to voters in November, even at the border. He claimed that there was.

“This shows that Democrats are united in opposing impeachment. And it shows that Republicans are still sending mixed messages,” said Homeland Security Committee Chairman Benny.・Congressman Thompson (Mississippi) said.

This article was updated at 7:28 p.m.