On Tuesday, the House GOP attempt to impeach Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas failed as three Republicans voted against the move, which would have resulted in the second-ever impeachment of a Cabinet official.
The Republicans joined all the Democrats in voting against the impeachment attempt, with the final tally being 216 to 214.
House GOP Fails to Impeach Mayorkas
EAGLE PASS, TEXAS - JANUARY 08: U.S. Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas holds a press conference at a U.S. Border Patrol station on January 08, 2024 in Eagle Pass, Texas. Mayorkas visited Texas border areas where large numbers of migrants had been crossing over the Rio Grande from Mexico just weeks before. The number has recently dropped dramatically, according to Mayorkas since the Mexican government ramped up enforcement actions, slowing many migrants from reaching the U.S. southern border.
The 214-216 vote is a shocking defeat for a GOP that has been under constant pressure from its right flank to impeach a Biden official, but the party has been undecided over which official to target. The failure occurred when Rep. Al Green (D-Texas) unexpectedly voted against the bill in the chamber.
Republicans entered the vote with two expected "no" votes, but then a third House GOP lawmaker, Rep. Mike Gallagher (R-Wis.), also voted against impeachment.
Rep. Blake Moore (R-Utah), the vice chair of the GOP conference, changed his vote to "no" just seconds before the vote ended, a procedural move that permits the conference to bring the legislation back to the floor later.
Republicans accused Mayorkas of "willful and systemic refusal to comply with the law," alleging that he violated immigration laws by failing to detain a sufficient number of migrants. Immigration law experts have evaluated the issue and found that Mayorkas did not break any rules. Furthermore, he was also accused of a "breach of public trust."
"Republicans have failed at making a constitutionally viable case for impeachment. Neither of the impeachment charges are a 'high crime and misdemeanor'... Impeachment over mere policy disputes was deliberately rejected by the framers, and those disputes are best settled in the court system," Rep. Bennie Thompson (D-Miss.), the top Democrat on the panel, said.
He added that Republicans have misrepresented the law and Mayorkas's record to support this phony impeachment.
Hard-line conservatives who have been pressuring Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) and former Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) to impeach Mayorkas for years were disappointed by the rejection of the impeachment articles.
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House GOP Receives Criticisms
The move demonstrates the GOP-led House's border approach as it rejects a bipartisan Senate agreement designed to stop immigration in favor of impeachment.
Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) was the second Republican to talk during the debate and described an "invasion" at the border. She portrayed immigrants as lawbreakers and blamed Mayorkas directly for every fentanyl-related fatality.
She said that these are the people who have completely evaded US authorities and are roaming the interior of the American communities, assaulting, raping, and murdering Americans.
However, the House GOP was criticized by Democratic leaders for abandoning the Senate agreement before it was unveiled.
House Minority Whip Katherine Clark (D-Mass.) said on the House floor that instead of pursuing a bipartisan compromise, strengthening the security of their border, advancing humane solutions, and doing their jobs, they are impeaching Mayorkas without a single allegation of any impeachable crime.
Clark continued that impeaching a cabinet member without evidence of high crimes or misdemeanors breaches public trust.
Related Article: Mayorkas Impeachment Update: House GOP Now Moving Swiftly To Impeach Homeland Security Secretary Over Border Handling
