On Monday, the House of Representatives decided to postpone the consideration of a resolution aimed at impeaching Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas. This action effectively deferred Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene’s (R-Ga.) attempt to remove the Biden administration official from his position due to concerns with his management of the crisis at the U.S.-Mexico border.
A group of eight Republican legislators, in conjunction with their Democratic counterparts, endorsed a motion to redirect the impeachment resolution to the Homeland Security Committee. This action effectively prevented the resolution from being brought to the floor for a vote, so absolving lawmakers from the necessity of directly addressing the issue. The conclusive tally resulted in a vote of 209 in favor and 201 against.
The eight Republicans identified in this context are Representatives Patrick Mchenry (N.C.), Tom McClintock (Calif.), John Duarte (Calif.), Virginia Foxx (N.C.), Darrell Issa (Calif.), Cliff Bentz (Ore.), Ken Buck (Colo.), and Mike Turner (Ohio).
BREAKING NEWS.
8 House Republicans vote with the Democrats to kill@MTGreenee resolution to impeach DHS Secretary Mayorkas.
“Impeachment of Mayorkas is literally the lowest hanging fruit and we are fu**ing it up. Some of these people want to have endless hearings and do… pic.twitter.com/EOkenq133J
— Kyle Becker (@kylenabecker) November 14, 2023
Marjorie Taylor Greene’s impeachment resolution of Mayorkas has been referred back to the Homeland Security Committee.
8 Republicans voted with Democrats for this referral
Did not vote:
12 Republicans
12 Democrats
The 8 Republicans who voted with the Democrats:
Patrick… pic.twitter.com/qo8Khiheb3
— Anne (@USA_Anne711) November 14, 2023
The ultimate outcome is unfavorable for Greene, who took action to initiate a vote on her resolution to impeach Mayorkas in the previous week. She accused the Homeland Security secretary of intentionally allowing individuals to cross the border and of breaching the Secure Fence Act, a legislation enacted in 2006 that stipulates the border must be considered operationally secure only if no unauthorized individuals or prohibited items enter the country.
In the month of May, she presented her impeachment proposal with the specific aim of targeting Mayorkas. Greene strongly criticized the eight Republicans who chose to table her resolution subsequent to the vote.
“I cannot believe this, I’m outraged,” expressed Greene. Subsequently, she further asserted, “I can assure you that Republican voters will be extremely angry that they’ve done this.”
HERE are the #EIGHTREPUBLICANS who put their stamp of approval on the Biden Border Crisis by refusing to vote for DHS Secretary Mayorkas’ impeachment:
– Rep. Ken Buck (R-CO)
– Rep. Darrell Issa (R-CA)
– Rep. Tom McClintock (R-CA)
– Rep. Patrick McHenry (R-NC)
– Rep. John… pic.twitter.com/PpsiNAni1P
— Kyle Becker (@kylenabecker) November 14, 2023
Greene also expressed her intention to potentially initiate another vote on her impeachment resolution, stating to reporters that “I may reintroduce them, maybe I introduce them again privileged and give them the opportunity, do they really want to do that? I’ll give ‘em some time to get phone calls in their office and talk to their constituents.”
If Greene’s resolution were to be successful, it would have undermined the ongoing process supervised by Mark Green (R-Tenn.), the Chair of the House Homeland Security Committee. Green has accused Mayorkas of “dereliction of duty” and is currently overseeing a comprehensive strategy to evaluate the secretary’s performance. Green intends to transfer the aforementioned body of material to the House Judiciary Committee, the governing body responsible for overseeing the impeachment proceedings.
On Monday, members of the Republican party who serve on the Homeland Security Committee published an interim report pertaining to the fourth phase of the ongoing investigation.
On Monday, Greene strongly criticized the Homeland Security Committee, asserting that the committee was impeding the progress of her impeachment endeavor.
On the House floor, Greene expressed her dissatisfaction with the lack of progress in adhering to regular order, which has persisted for a duration of six months, attributing the inaction to the committee of jurisdiction in Congress. “We have been waiting for regular order for six months, and the committee of jurisdiction in Congress has failed to act,” Greene said, adding, “My articles of impeachment sit collecting dust with the others while Americans die every single day.”
On Thursday, Greene employed a strategic maneuver by introducing her impeachment proposal as a privileged resolution, so compelling the leadership to address the legislation within a span of two legislative days. The Democratic party effectively introduced a motion to refer the resolution on Monday, so deferring the decision about the impeachment of Mayorkas.
The House GOP conference was divided on Greene’s initiative to expedite Mayorkas’s impeachment, as certain members supported the endeavor while others advocated for adhering to regular order.
House Majority Whip Tom Emmer, a Republican representative from Minnesota, expressed his endorsement of Greene’s decision on Sunday via a post made on the social media network X, formerly known as Twitter. “A vote to impeach Mayorkas is a vote to get our border under control. I’ll be voting to impeach.” However, Representative John Duarte (R-Calif.), who represents a district that President Biden secured in the 2020 election, expressed to reporters he is “not interested in these peripheral impeachments.”
“If we impeach anybody, it’s going to be up to [Rep. James Comer (R-Ky.)] and the Judiciary Committee to decide that he’s ready to move the impeachment inquiry to a full impeachment on President Biden,” he further stated.
When confronted with the fact that Greene’s procedural strategy would necessitate a floor vote on the legislation, Duarte retorted by stating, “We will cast our vote in opposition and proceed forward.”
Mayorkas has consistently been a subject of scrutiny by House Republicans, who saw border security and immigration as areas of vulnerability for President Biden.
The momentum behind the impeachment of Mayorkas has fluctuated, as several individuals have assumed the responsibility of initiating the introduction of impeachment articles at different junctures.
However, Greene’s strategic move to compel a vote altered the dynamics of the endeavor.
While the rationales for impeachment have varied across different proposals, a consistent element is the allegation that Mayorkas has played a prominent role in what Republicans refer to as Biden’s “open border” policy.
Greene’s publications align with prior endeavors by asserting that the secretary has contravened the Secure Fence Act of 2006. This legislation, enacted hastily during an election year, delineated “operational control” of the border as the prevention of any unauthorized crossings of commodities or individuals.
The post These 8 Republicans Just Voted AGAINST Impeaching DHS Sec Mayorkas appeared first on The Republic Brief.
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