House Rejects Mayorkas Impeachment Resolution
AP Photo/Alex Brandon, File
The House of Representatives voted on Tuesday against impeaching Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, ending the Republican-led effort to sanction him for what the impeachment resolution called his “willful and systemic refusal to comply with the law.”
The vote was 216 against, 214 in favor. Mayorkas would have been just the second cabinet official to be impeached in U.S. history.
However, the failure to impeach may be short-lived, as it appears Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) will put the resolution on the floor again when one of the absent members of his conference returns.
Republican lawmakers have been critical of the way Mayorkas and President Joe Biden have handled border security and immigration in general since the beginning of the administration, but not all were on board with the impeachment push.
Last week, Rep. Ken Buck (R-CO) said he would vote against the resolution.
“Well, this is not a high crime or misdemeanor,” Buck stated, referring to the grounds for impeachment in the Constitution. “It’s not an impeachable offense. This is a policy difference.
On Tuesday, Rep. Tom McClintock (R-CA) called the impeachment effort “delusional” and said it fails “to identify an impeachable crime that Mayorkas has committed.”
Rep. Mike Gallagher (R-WI) joined the two in voting “no.” A fourth Republican, Rep. Blake Moore (R-UT) also voted against the measure, but did so for a procedural reason, namely so the vote can be called again at a later date. Republicans would have had the votes necessary to impeach Mayorkas had Rep. Steve Scalise (R-LA), who is having health issues, been present.
GOP lawmakers have been under fire in recent days for seemingly scuttling a Republican-crafted border and immigration bill after former President Donald Trump urged them not to pass it. Trump is aiming to use the issue as a cudgel against Biden on the campaign trail. The gambit, however, undercuts Republicans’ claim that the situation at the border amounts to an emergency and a crisis. Nevertheless, congressional Republicans are heeding Trump’s demand, as Senate Republican leadership appears poised to kill the legislation, with its own author indicating he may vote against it.
