8 Republicans Side With Dems in Mayorkas Impeachment Vote

House pushes off effort to impeach Homeland Security secretary
By Newser Editors and Wire Services
Posted Nov 13, 2023 4:53 PM CST
Updated Nov 14, 2023 12:00 AM CST
House Prepares to Vote on Impeaching Homeland Secretary
Rep. Marjorie Taylor-Greene speaks to reporters on Capitol Hill.   (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
UPDATE Nov 14, 2023 12:00 AM CST

The House voted Monday to push off a Republican effort to impeach Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, ending for now a threat against the Cabinet secretary that has been brewing ever since Republicans took the House majority in January, the AP reports. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene forced a vote on impeaching Mayorkas to the floor through a rule that allows any single member to force a snap vote on resolutions, including constitutional matters such as impeachment. Eight Republicans joined with Democrats to vote 209-201 to send her resolution to committees for possible consideration, like any other bill. They are under no obligation to do anything. After the vote, Greene said she may try again to push an impeachment vote to the floor and argued her colleagues would face pressure from voters to impeach Mayorkas.

Nov 13, 2023 4:53 PM CST

The House is holding a test vote Monday on whether to impeach Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, a step usually reserved for grave misconduct in office that is instead being wielded in an extraordinary effort to remove the Cabinet secretary for his handling of the southern border. GOP Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene forced a vote on impeaching Mayorkas through a rule that allows any single member to force a snap vote on resolutions, including constitutional matters such as impeachment, the AP reports. In a floor speech Monday, she accused Mayorkas of a "pattern of conduct that is incompatible with the laws of the United States," as she cited record numbers of illegal border crossings, an influx of drugs, and his "open border policies."

Democrats have sought to bottle the matter up through a vote on Monday evening that would "table" or kill the impeachment resolution, but the outcome is uncertain. Several prominent Republicans have become outspoken advocates of pushing ahead on the GOP's longstanding effort to impeach Mayorkas. House GOP whip Tom Emmer, the No. 3 House Republican, as well as Rep. Tony Gonzales, a Texas Republican whose congressional district runs along the border with Mexico, have voiced support for Greene's resolution.

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Impeaching a Cabinet official for their policy decisions would be unprecedented. But House Republicans have shown increasing willingness to reach to Congress' most grave weapons and redefine what the Constitution means by impeachable "high crimes and misdemeanors." "While the House Majority has wasted months trying to score points with baseless attacks, Secretary Mayorkas has been doing his job and working to keep Americans safe," a DHS spokesperson said in a statement. Only one US cabinet official has ever been impeached: Secretary of War William Belknap in 1876. A House investigation found evidence that he had received kickback payments while administering government contracts.

(More Alejandro Mayorkas stories.)

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