Washington — The House is about to vote on impeaching Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas on Tuesday after Republicans and Democrats clashed over whether or not his dealing with of the disaster on the U.S.-Mexico border rose to the extent of excessive crimes and misdemeanors.
House Majority Whip Tom Emmer introduced the timing of the vote on Tuesday morning.
If the vote succeeds, Mayorkas could be simply the second Cabinet official to be impeached in U.S. historical past, and the primary in almost 150 years. But the trouble is all however sure to crash within the Senate, the place Democrats have management and a two-thirds majority could be wanted to convict and take away him from workplace.
Two Republicans have mentioned they oppose the impeachment effort, that means only one extra GOP lawmaker may sink the vote if all members are in attendance. Rep. Tom McClintock of California mentioned Tuesday morning that he opposes impeaching Mayorkas.
“[The impeachment articles] fail to determine an impeachable crime that Mayorkas has dedicated,” he mentioned in a press release. “In impact, they stretch and deform the Constitution with the intention to maintain the administration accountable for stretching and distorting the legislation.
McClintock joined Rep. Ken Buck, a Colorado Republican, who has mentioned that “there isn’t any impeachable offense.”
“It’s maladministration,” Buck mentioned final week, referring to Mayorkas’ management of the Department of Homeland Security. “He’s horrible, the border is a catastrophe, however that is not impeachable.”
Anna Moneymaker / Getty Images
Democrats say Republicans are utilizing the impeachment push to attain political factors forward of the 2024 election, with immigration being a prime voter concern. They additionally argued that it failed to satisfy the bar of a excessive crime or misdemeanor, a criticism shared by authorized consultants.
Why is Mayorkas being impeached?
Republicans on the House Homeland Security Committee sped via impeachment proceedings, holding simply two hearings inside eight days in January. Republicans introduced two articles of impeachment towards Mayorkas with out listening to testimony from him amid a disagreement about when he may seem.
The expenses accuse President Biden’s prime immigration official of “willful and systemic refusal to adjust to the legislation” and “breach of public belief” over the administration’s dealing with of the migrant disaster on the southern border.
The first impeachment article accuses Mayorkas of failing to implement immigration insurance policies, permitting for a document variety of unlawful border crossings in recent months. The second article alleges he lied to lawmakers about whether or not the southern border was safe when he beforehand testified that his division had “operational management” of the border. It additionally accuses Mayorkas of obstructing congressional oversight of his division.
GOP Rep. Mark Green of Tennessee, the committee’s chairman, mentioned in a press release that impeachment was mandatory as a result of Mayorkas’ “actions created this unprecedented disaster, turning each state right into a border state.”
In a press release on Monday, the Biden administration mentioned it was “an unprecedented and unconstitutional act of political retribution that might do nothing to unravel the challenges our nation faces in securing the border.”
The highway to impeachment
Mayorkas has been beneath risk of impeachment over his dealing with of the border since Republicans took management of the House in 2023.
GOP Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia launched an impeachment decision towards Mayorkas in early November, saying he had “violated his oath to uphold this constitutional obligation” by permitting an “invasion” of undocumented immigrants. The House voted to refer the decision to the Homeland Security Committee, which was already investigating Mayorkas.
Greene, outraged by the transfer, tried to drive a vote on a second decision focusing on Mayorkas, however backed off after receiving assurances from House leaders the sooner effort would proceed on the committee degree.
At the time, a number of House Republicans expressed issues about impeaching Mayorkas, saying that his conduct didn’t quantity to impeachable offenses.
Rep. Bennie Thompson of Mississippi, the highest Democrat on the Homeland Security committee, mentioned on Jan. 29 that the referral ought to have gone to the House Judiciary Committee. Thompson mentioned it is “the first-ever impeachment consideration by a committee apart from the Judiciary Committee.”
“It’s uncommon,” Thompson mentioned. “It speaks of a deal being made.”
The committee introduced its first impeachment listening to in early January, with its second and remaining listening to coming eight days later. Lawmakers heard from the grieving moms of victims of violent crime and fentanyl overdoses, in addition to three state attorneys basic who’re suing Mayorkas. Two legislation professors additionally testified that there was not a constitutional foundation for Mayorkas’ impeachment.
On Jan. 30, the committee superior the impeachment articles on a party-line vote after a prolonged markup by which Republicans faulted Mayorkas for not protecting migrants in detention and blamed him for deaths brought on by fentanyl, whereas Democrats referred to as the costs baseless.
“We’ve heard loads from my Republican colleagues at present about how that is our solely choice,” Rep. Dan Goldman, a New York Democrat, mentioned in the course of the markup.
He mentioned Congress may deal with the issue by passing laws, however famous that House Republicans wish to sink an immigration deal between a bipartisan group of senators and the Biden administration that’s designed to cut back the unprecedented ranges of unlawful crossings in recent years.
House Republicans counter that they handed a border safety invoice often known as H.R. 2 final 12 months, although it had no Democratic help and was lifeless on arrival within the Senate.
Mayorkas defended himself towards Republican assaults in a letter despatched to the committee forward of final week’s vote to advance the invoice to the House ground.
“I guarantee you that your false accusations don’t rattle me and don’t divert me from the legislation enforcement and broader public service mission to which I’ve devoted most of my profession and to which I stay devoted,” Mayorkas wrote, additionally highlighting the division’s efforts to extend migrant deportations and fight trafficking networks.
“I’ll defer a dialogue of the constitutionality of your present effort to the numerous revered students and consultants throughout the political spectrum who have already got opined that it’s opposite to legislation,” he added.
Ellis Kim contributed reporting.
