In a bewildering display of disarray and failure, House Republicans stumbled in their bid to impeach Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas. The ill-fated endeavor, marked by unexpected defections and procedural blunders, underscored the GOP’s inability to cohesively execute their political maneuvers, leaving them red-faced and grasping for explanations.
The 214-216 vote is a stunning loss for a GOP that has faced continual pressure from its right flank to impeach a Biden official, even as Republicans waffled on which one to focus.
Last week, the Republican-controlled House Homeland Security Committee voted along party lines to advance two articles of impeachment against Mayorkas, charging him with “breach of trust” and “willful and systemic refusal to comply with the law.”
Democrats repeatedly asserted during the hearing that Republicans have no constitutional basis to impeach Mayorkas, and they said that GOP lawmakers have struggled in two recent hearings to detail clear evidence of high crimes and misdemeanors.
Rep. Tom Kean Jr., a New Jersey Republican who is facing a difficult re-election, was an enthusiastic participant in the ill-fated attempt to impeach Mayorkas, which was sponsored by Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene despite the lack of justification for the action.
The botched attempt unfolded dramatically on the House floor, where a last-minute appearance by Rep. Al Green, still recovering from surgery and clad in hospital scrubs, tipped the scales against the impeachment effort.
Despite pressure from their right flank, three Republican representatives, Reps. Ken Buck, Tom McClintock, and Mike Gallagher, broke ranks with their party, sealing the fate of the resolution.
Gallagher’s voted against impeachment surprised his GOP colleagues.
“Secretary Mayorkas will be remembered as the worst Secretary of Homeland Security in history. While inexcusable, this incompetence is not constitutional grounds for an impeachment,” said Buck on social media.
The failure to impeach Mayorkas not only revealed fractures within the GOP but also exposed the flimsiness of their allegations against the Homeland Security Secretary.
Accusations of “willful and systemic refusal to comply with the law” crumbled under scrutiny, with legal experts dismissing the claims as baseless and unconstitutional. Moreover, attempts to portray Mayorkas as a scapegoat for broader policy disagreements fell flat, as Republicans struggled to articulate a coherent case for impeachment.
Behind the scenes, the debacle sparked internal discord among Republicans, with finger-pointing and recriminations flying in the aftermath of the vote. While staunch conservatives vowed to revive the impeachment push, others voiced skepticism, questioning the wisdom of pursuing a futile crusade that only served to undermine the party’s credibility.
Mayorkas is the first refugee and the first person born in Latin America to lead the department.
Mayorkas was born in Havana, Cuba. Shortly after the Cuban Revolution, his family fled to Florida and later settled in California. He graduated from UC Berkeley in history with honors, subsequently earning his J.D. from Loyola Marymount University.
After law school, Mayorkas worked as an Assistant United States Attorney and was appointed the United States attorney for the Central District of California in Los Angeles during the administration of President Bill Clinton and George W. Bush, where he oversaw the prosecution of high-profile criminal cases.
Mayorkas was appointed by President Obama as the director of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) and confirmed by the Senate.
After President-elect Joe Biden announced he would name Mayorkas as the seventh secretary of homeland security, his selection received the endorsement of the Fraternal Order of Police and former secretaries Tom Ridge, Michael Chertoff, Janet Napolitano, and Jeh Johnson, who said Biden “could not have found a more qualified person”.
Democrats, meanwhile, seized upon the GOP’s misstep as evidence of their own unity and strategic prowess.
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries lambasted Republicans for pursuing a misguided vendetta against Mayorkas, accusing them of prioritizing political theater over substantive governance.
Indeed, the spectacle of Republicans grasping at straws to justify their actions only reinforced perceptions of a party adrift, devoid of a coherent agenda or vision for the country.
As the dust settled on the failed impeachment bid, one thing became abundantly clear: House Republicans had squandered a golden opportunity to demonstrate leadership and effectiveness.
Instead, they emerged from the debacle diminished and divided, casting further doubt on their ability to govern responsibly. In the absence of a cohesive strategy and meaningful policy proposals, the GOP’s prospects for success in upcoming elections appear increasingly dim.
In a statement after the impeachment was defeated, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) encouraged Republicans to abandon the effort entirely.
“This baseless impeachment should never have moved forward; it faces bipartisan opposition and legal experts resoundingly say it is unconstitutional. If House Republicans are serious about border security, they should abandon these political games, and instead support the bipartisan national security agreement in the Senate to get DHS the enforcement resources we need,” said DHS spokesperson Mia Ehrenberg.