MTG Drops Latest Mayorkas Impeachment Resolution

Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) abandoned on Thursday her latest bid to force another House vote on impeaching Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, marking a turnaround for the congresswoman who only a day ago had threatened to “keep reintroducing” her resolution until it succeeded.

In withdrawing the resolution she introduced on Wednesday before it could be considered by the chamber, Greene — who often is referred to as “MTG” — claimed she had been “guaranteed” that the House would be “moving forward” with impeaching Mayorkas through the Homeland Security Committee.

Greene told reporters she expects her articles of impeachment, which were previously referred to the Homeland Security Committee, to reach the House floor “very soon.” The congresswoman credited “good talks” with Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA), Homeland Security Chairman Mark Green (R-TN), and other members of the panel in coming to that decision.

Eight Republicans joined with all voting Democrats earlier this month to approve a motion that kicked Greene’s previous impeachment resolution, which accused Mayorkas of “high crimes and misdemeanors” over his failure to maintain border security, to the House Homeland Security Committee. The panel had already been investigating Mayorkas for alleged dereliction of duty in a probe that could lead to impeachment proceedings in the future.

Previously, Greene argued that sending her impeachment measure to the Homeland Security Committee would effectively “kill” her resolution, clashing with some of the GOP holdouts who indicated a desire to see Mayorkas impeached while stressing that they wanted to proceed in a way that was not rushed and ensured a conviction in the Senate — a high bar at the moment as the upper chamber is controlled by the Democrats who are generally aligned with the White House.

One of the eight Republicans, Rep. Darrell Issa (R-CA), released a statement on Thursday announcing that he was ready to vote to “recommend” that Mayorkas be impeached, claiming the investigation “has yielded ample and damning facts that the Secretary has not even attempted to correct or contradict – because he can’t.” Green, the chairman of the Homeland Security Committee, also released a statement that said the panel’s investigation is “nearing [its] conclusion, and will—as I’ve said all along—go where the facts lead us.”

In defending Mayorkas, the Department of Homeland Security has derided what a spokesperson called “reckless impeachment charades” by congressional Republicans. Asked in a recent Bloomberg interview whether the impeachment effort has changed his strategy, Mayorkas shook his head and said, “I am busy at work and incredibly proud to support and work alongside the 260,000 people at the Department of Homeland Security.”

Rep. Bennie Thompson (D-MS), the ranking member of the Homeland Security Committee, released a statement on Thursday claiming the about-face on Thursday “exposed” the impeachment effort as a “political stunt.” He also encouraged House Republicans to work with “congressional Democrats and the Biden Administration to fix our broken immigration system and provide DHS the resources it needs along the border now.”