Several House Republicans voted to stall Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene‘s (R-GA) impeachment resolution against Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, but that does not mean they oppose impeaching the Biden administration official.
By a 209-201 tally on Monday, the GOP-led chamber sent the impeachment resolution to the House Homeland Security Committee, which is already investigating Mayorkas for alleged dereliction of duty over his handling of the border — a probe that could lead to impeachment proceedings in the future.
Eight Republicans joined with all voting Democrats in supporting the motion, including: Reps. Cliff Bentz (R-OR), Ken Buck (R-CO), John Duarte (R-CA), Virginia Foxx (R-N.C.), Darrell Issa (R-CA), Tom McClintock (R-CA), Patrick McHenry (R-N.C.), and Mike Turner (R-OH).
A key point of contention appears to be whether the House should have proceeded through “regular order,” which is essentially a systematic process of debate and voting that also applies to legislation. In recent years, political observers have bemoaned what they see as the collapse of regular order — particularly as it relates to the appropriations process and a growing number of last-minute scrums to avert a government shutdown.
Greene, who often is referred to as “MTG,” contended there was already “overwhelming evidence” to quickly impeach Mayorkas and bemoaned how sending her resolution to the Homeland Security Committee would effectively “kill” the impeachment effort. She said in a post to X, “My articles have been rotting in committee and now go back on the shelf.”
The congresswoman also chided the eight GOP holdouts, saying, “Your excuses are pathetic!” Two of her constituents were killed in a car crash last week involving a suspected human smuggler from Honduras, leading Greene to ask how many more U.S. citizens must die before impeachment is done the “right way.”
To the 8 Republicans who voted with Dems to kill the impeachment of Mayorkas:
How many more Americans have to die while you claim impeachment has to be done the “right way?”
My articles have been rotting in committee and now go back on the shelf.
Your excuses are pathetic!
— Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene🇺🇸 (@RepMTG) November 14, 2023
But doing impeachment the “right way,” as explained by some of the holdouts themselves, may be what ensures a conviction in the Senate — though it remains a high bar at the moment as the upper chamber is controlled by the Democrats who are generally aligned with the White House.
“We didn’t kill a Mayorkas impeachment. We voted to launch hearings and make our case to the entire nation. If we impeached Mayorkas today, the Senate would have rejected it today,” Issa said in a post to X. “House Democrats will now have to defend Biden or admit his border disaster. We can win this.”
We didn’t kill a Mayorkas impeachment. We voted to launch hearings and make our case to the entire nation. If we impeached Mayorkas today, the Senate would have rejected it today.
House Democrats will now have to defend Biden or admit his border disaster. We can win this.
— Rep. Darrell Issa (@repdarrellissa) November 15, 2023
Foxx, another holdout, said in a statement that she has long supported impeaching Mayorkas but opposes “stooping to the same level” as House Democrats when they waged their “snap impeachment crusade” against former President Donald Trump. The North Carolina Republican argued the probe into Mayorkas must be methodical like with how the GOP-led House has chosen to run a corruption-focused inquiry against President Joe Biden led by multiple committees.
“House Republicans made clear in our Commitment to America that we would restore regular order in Washington — and that means putting in the work and exposing the truth even while some want to cut corners and do the opposite,” Foxx said. “If the United States Senate is to follow our lead and impeach Secretary Mayorkas as well, we’d better do things by the book from the get-go — shortcuts are not an option.”
Greene, who is in her second term, has spent the entirety of her time in Congress pushing for impeachment of Biden administration officials. Soon after she was first sworn in as a lawmaker in January 2021, Greene announced that she filed impeachment articles against Biden, accusing him of corruption and abuse of power. She has followed suit with other attempts, including border-focused articles of impeachment against Biden and Mayorkas earlier this year, that have not gained much traction.
CHECK OUT THE DAILY WIRE BLACK FRIDAY SHOPPING GUIDE
So how long will it take for the House Homeland Security Committee to decide whether to move toward impeachment proceedings against Mayorkas? It may not be far off, judging by a clue dealt by the panel on Monday.
Hours before the House voted to punt on Greene’s latest resolution, the committee released its “phase four” interim report assessing the “staggering” financial costs of the border crisis on U.S. taxpayers. In fact, the panel has been investigating Mayorkas for alleged dereliction of duty for months and back in June, when Chairman Mark Green (R-TN) announced the inquiry, he said it would span five phases — at the conclusion of which the findings would be sent to the House Judiciary Committee for possible impeachment proceedings.
Meanwhile, as the political infighting over whether to impeach Mayorkas rages, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has rejected the criticism of one of the Biden administration’s most high-profile Cabinet secretaries and deflected the blame for issues at the border to Congress.
“Instead of continuing their reckless impeachment charades and attacks on law enforcement, Congress should work with us to keep our country safe, build on the progress DHS is making, and deliver desperately needed reforms for our broken immigration system that only legislation can fix,” a DHS spokesperson told The Daily Wire.