Sen. Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., said on Tuesday he supports a full impeachment trial for Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas over his handling of the border crisis.
"I think that would be the best way to go forward," McConnell told reporters after the weekly Senate GOP leadership press conference.
Top GOP leader behind McConnell, Republican Whip Sen. John Thune, also called for a full impeachment trial, while more GOP lawmakers argue Democrats are attempting to short circuit a trial.
"The House of Representatives has determined that Secretary Mayorkas has committed impeachable offenses. That issue will come before the United States Senate. I believe the Senate needs to hold a trial," Thune announced.
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"I’m going to make the argument — and I’m sure the Democrats will try to dismiss it — that we ought to be having a trial, conducting a trial of the United States Senate to determine whether these are impeachable offenses," he went on.
Senate conservatives have been putting pressure on Republican leadership to push forward with a trial as it's unclear whether the Democrat-controlled Senate will move forward with the House's articles.
Sen. Rick Scott, R-Fla., is one of the lawmakers pushing for a full trial. He told Fox News Digital Tuesday that "we have got to make sure we have a real trial and get to real facts about what's going on here."
"So if he thinks he's done such a great job come and explain it. But what they want to do is they want to short circuit this," he said.
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Scott, alongside nearly a dozen Senate Republicans, signed a letter led by Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, last week urging McConnell "ensure that the Senate conducts a proper trial, and that every senator, Republican and Democratic, adjudicates this matter when the Senate returns."
"According to multiple briefings by your staff, Majority Leader Schumer and Senate Democrats intend to dispense with the articles of impeachment by simply tabling both individually," Lee wrote. "This is an action rarely contemplated and never taken by the U.S. Senate in the history of our Republic."
Meanwhile, Sen. Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., didn't give clarity on Tuesday about whether a trial would be scheduled. After the House voted to impeach Mayorkas earlier this month, Schumer assured a trial would proceed this week. That now appears to be unlikely as a partial government shutdown looms.
HOUSE VOTES TO IMPEACH DHS SECRETARY MAYORKAS OVER BORDER CRISIS
"Look, as I’ve said, the impeachment of Mayorkas is absurd. There’s not one drop of evidence that leads to any kind of charge of impeachment, and we’re going to handle it in the best way possible," Schumer told reporters on Tuesday.
There is also growing frustration among the 11 House impeachment managers about when they will present their articles to the Senate in the case of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas.
House managers serve as "prosecutors" and argue the impeachment case before the Senate.
One impeachment manager told Fox they had been given "no clear guidance" about the roles they might play or when the House may even transmit the articles to the Senate.
Fox News' Chad Pergram contributed to this report.
Welcome to Fox News’ Politics newsletter with the latest political news from Washington D.C. and updates from the 2024 campaign trail.
What's Happening?
- Biden calls for ceasefire over ice cream
- Squad member Tlaib proposes paying homeless people $1400/month
- Poll reveals what Americans think of the border crisis
Michigan holds presidential primaries Tuesday, and for once there's more drama on the Democratic side than the GOP.
A campaign to vote "uncommitted" on the Democratic Party's ballot has been gathering steam, fueled by anger over President Biden's support for Israel in its war against Hamas.
Rep. Rashida Tlaib, D-Mich. — the first Palestinian-American elected to the U.S. House — has urged Michigan Democrats to vote "uncommitted" in protest of Biden's Israel policy.
Democratic strategist James Carville said Monday that the Michigan protest vote against Biden is a "huge problem" for the party. But how much Biden will be embarrassed by the vote in the Michigan primary today remains to be seen.
"I think we just kinda have to wait until they count the ballots tonight and see what it does and make a determination," Carville told CNN this week. "But regardless of what happens, this Gaza thing is really tearing the Democratic Party, I don't want to say tearing apart, but it certainly, there are certainly divisions within the party, and a lot of people just don‘t like this," he said during the media appearance.
Follow results from Michigan's presidential primaries at the Fox News election center
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Lead Republicans on the impeachment inquiry into President Joe Biden on Tuesday subpoenaed Attorney General Merrick Garland for records related to Special Counsel Robert Hur’s investigation.
"The Justice Department has closed its investigation into classified documents, but the Oversight Committee and Judiciary Committee’s investigation continues,” Oversight Committee Chair James Comer (R-Ky.), who issued the subpoena alongside Judiciary Committee Chair Jim Jordan (R-Ohio), said in a statement.
Hur, in a report released earlier this month, found that criminal charges related to Biden’s handling of classified documents wouldn’t be warranted even if DOJ lacked an internal policy against prosecuting sitting presidents. The report added that Biden “willfully retained and disclosed classified materials after his vice presidency,” but it didn’t “establish Mr. Biden’s guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.”
Hur is scheduled to testify about his investigation next month before the Judiciary Committee, and Republicans are eager to ask him about the report’s descriptions of Biden. That includes a line that says Biden would be perceived in any court proceedings as a “sympathetic, well-meaning elderly man with a poor memory.”
The subpoena comes after House Republicans requested information earlier this month about Hur’s investigation. That includes any records, including recordings, related to Biden’s interview with Hur’s team. They also want classified documents identified in the report related to Ukraine, and any communication between the Justice Department, Biden’s personal counsel and the White House about the special counsel report.
House Republicans are investigating Biden’s handling of classified documents as part of a sweeping impeachment inquiry that has largely focused on the business deals of Biden’s family members.
Republicans, in Tuesday’s letter, said that the Justice Department hadn’t offered a timeframe for when it would turn over the requested records, or a commitment that it would give GOP investigators everything they are requesting.
Assistant Attorney General Carlos Uriarte told Republicans in a Feb. 16 letter obtained by POLITICO that the Justice Department was “working to gather and process materials responsive” to their requests. That process, according to Uriarte’s letter, would require a classification review and sharing material with the executive branch to determine if it would “assert any confidentiality interests.”
“We have already begun this process. The Department is committed to responding to the committees’ requests expeditiously, consistent with the law, longstanding Department policies and principles, and available resources,” Uriarte added.
Top Senate Republicans are calling for a full impeachment trial for Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, despite its doomed prospects.
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell told reporters Tuesday afternoon that a trial “would be the best way to go forward.” And Minority Whip John Thune (R-S.D.) said that the Senate needs to hold a trial and that “people need to be held accountable.”
But many Democrats aren’t looking to hold a thorough trial, with even centrists like Sens. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) and Jon Tester (D-Mont.) saying they would support a quick dismissal. The Senate majority isn’t interested in furthering the GOP narrative about the Biden administration’s failures at the southern border.
Dismissing the trial only takes a simple majority and would effectively kill the House’s long-coming impeachment effort in mere minutes. If a trial proceeds, the outcome is a foregone conclusion: Democrats will vote to acquit Mayorkas.
The Senate is still waiting for the House impeachment managers to deliver the formal articles against Mayorkas, which narrowly passed the lower chamber. Those are not expected this week, as government funding negotiations dominate Congress’ schedule.
Ursula Perano contributed to this report.
House Republicans have subpoenaed Special Counsel Robert Hur for the transcript and any recordings of President Biden’s interview from the investigation into the president’s mishandling of classified documents.
Republicans leading the impeachment inquiry — House Oversight Committee Chair James Comer, House Judiciary Committee Chair Jim Jordan and House Ways & Means Committee Chair Jason Smith — requested the materials related to Biden's October 2023 interview be turned over to Congress earlier this month and set a deadline of Feb. 19. That deadline was not met, but the Justice Department said it was "working to gather and process" responsive documents.
The subpoena, reviewed by Fox News Digital, compels the Justice Department to produce all documents and communications, including audio and video recordings, related to Hur's interview of Biden.
The subpoena also covers all documents and communications, including audio and video recordings, related to Hur's interview of the ghost writer of Biden's memoir, Mark Zwonitzer; documents identified as "A9" and "A10" in the Appendix A of Hur's report, which relate to then-Vice President Joe Biden's Dec. 11, 2015 call with Ukrainian Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk; and all communications between or among representatives of the Department of Justice, including the Office of Special Counsel, the Executive Office of the President, and President Biden's personal counsel referring or relating to Hur's report.
BIDEN, NOT SPECIAL COUNSEL HUR, BROUGHT UP SON'S DEATH IN QUESTIONING
Fox News Digital obtained a letter the Republicans sent to Attorney General Merrick Garland on Tuesday, notifying the department of the subpoena, and taking issue with the fact that the DOJ, earlier this month, "offered no timeframe by which it expected to make any productions or, indeed, any commitment that it would produce all of the material requested."
"The Oversight and Judiciary Committees, in coordination with the Ways and Means Committee, are investigating whether sufficient grounds exist to draft articles of impeachment against President Biden for consideration by the full House," they wrote. "The Committees are concerned that President Biden may have retained sensitive documents related to specific countries involving his family's foreign business dealings."
SPECIAL COUNSEL ROBERT HUR TO TESTIFY PUBLICLY AT HOUSE HEARING ON BIDEN CLASSIFIED RECORDS PROBE
The Republicans are also seeking information on "whether the White House or President Biden’s personal attorneys placed any limitations or scoping restrictions during the interviews with Special Counsel Hur or Mr. Mark Zwonitzer precluding or addressing any potential statements directly linking President Biden to troublesome foreign payments."
"Additionally, the Judiciary Committee requires these materials for its ongoing oversight of the Department’s commitment to impartial justice and its handling of the investigation and prosecution of President Biden’s presumptive opponent, President Donald J. Trump, in the November 2024 presidential election," the letter states. "The documents requested are directly relevant to both the impeachment inquiry and the Judiciary Committee’s legislative oversight of the Department."
Hur, who released his report to the public earlier this month after months of investigating, did not recommend criminal charges against Biden for mishandling and retaining classified documents and stated that he wouldn't bring charges against Biden even if he were not in the Oval Office.
Those records included classified documents about military and foreign policy in Afghanistan and other countries, among other records related to national security and foreign policy, which Hur said implicated "sensitive intelligence sources and methods."
Hur did not recommend any charges against the president but did describe him as a "sympathetic, well-meaning elderly man with a poor memory" — a description that has raised significant concerns for Biden's 2024 re-election campaign.
There are blockbuster weeks on Capitol Hill, and then there are weeks like this one.
Hunter Biden is testifying. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin is explaining. A partial government shutdown is looming.
"Congress hasn’t even finished our deadlines from the previous fiscal year. I mean, Oct. 1 was the deadline," fumed Rep. Warren Davidson, R-Ohio, on FOX Business. "Before I was in Congress, I was in manufacturing. And if you were making bad parts, you would at least stop making bad parts."
Davidson observed that Congress continues to even make "bad parts, and we’re not even in session."
Some conservatives say they are okay with a shutdown starting this weekend. They believe a shutdown would at least harness some spending.
"A government shutdown is not ideal. But it’s not the worst thing," said the House Freedom Caucus Chairman Rep. Bob Good, R-Va. "The only leverage we have, when we have one branch, is to be willing to say no. To be willing to walk away."
BURNING DOWN THE HOUSE: FEBRUARY HAS BEEN AN UNMITIGATED DISASTER FOR REPUBLICANS
Conservatives are begging House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., to abandon a government spending pact he crafted with Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., and others in early January. The accord did not fund the government — hence the funding problem lawmakers face this weekend. That agreement simply established the size of the money pie for fiscal year 2024. Leaders agreed that Congress would spend a grand total of $1.59 trillion for fiscal year 2024. But on what? And how? Those issues remain unresolved. That is why lawmakers have toiled over for nearly two months now – trying to slice $1.59 trillion into 12 separate appropriations bills. It was thought there may be an agreement over the weekend. However, matters imploded.
Johnson told Fox News Tuesday that he is working to prevent the government spending from lapsing.
"We're gonna prevent the shutdown. We're working on it," Johnson said.
"The problem is that Speaker Johnson is indecisive. He’s weak. He’s inexperienced and he does not have the votes. Not only because it’s a tight majority. But also because there is a far right group of House Republicans who are blocking him everywhere he wants to go," said Tom Kahn, a distinguished fellow at American University and former House Budget Committee staff director. "I think he’s afraid to make decisions because he’s afraid to lose his job. He saw what happened to his predecessor, (former House Speaker) Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif."
So, conservatives are now pushing an interim spending bill — something which was anathema to many on the right just a few months ago. They used to demand that Congress pass spending bills "by the book." One by one. Now, conservatives are okay with a stopgap plan, known as a continuing resolution (CR). Federal spending climbs year after year. A CR simply renews all the old funding — without an increase. This gambit maintains the old spending levels. It is not a cut, but there is no new funding. Thus, to conservatives, it saves money.
"This is why I support a continuing resolution, which actually is going to force a 1% cut. $100 billion savings and maybe stabilize this inflation issue" said Sen. Roger Marshall, R-Kan., on Fox.
Democrats — and some Republicans — find this thinking outrageous.
"It’s very disappointing to see that the House has been so unwilling to compromise and work together," said Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, D-N.H. "We’ve just had obstacles every step of the way."
However, most lawmakers are resigned to believing a CR may be the only way to avoid a shutdown.
"Things are pretty uncertain right now," said Sen. John Cornyn, R-Tex. "I think we’re heading toward a CR for some uncertain duration."
The deadline is Friday night at 11:59:59 p.m. ET.
"It’s going to be hard enough to meet that 72-hour requirement by Friday," said Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin, D-Ill. "So I don’t know if a CR is possible."
Here is what is at stake. A partial shutdown stalls transportation and housing programs. It suspends money for agriculture and military construction. A government closure holds up energy and water projects.
However, a full shutdown for the entire federal government could hit at the end of the day on March 8.
Top bipartisan Senate leaders are trying to avert a shutdown.
"The margin for error on any of these is razor thin. And unfortunately, the temptation to choose chaos and disorder instead of cooperation will be strong for some here in the Capitol," said Schumer.
Schumer secured backup from Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky.
"Once more, a shutdown this week is entirely, avoidable," said McConnell. "Shutting down the government is harmful to the country. And it never produces positive outcomes – on policy or politics."
However, not all lawmakers are focused on government spending.
Hunter Biden testifies behind closed doors on Wednesday before House investigators. Austin will explain to livid lawmakers on Thursday as to why he failed to inform the president or other Pentagon officials about his medical leave. Then, we’re on to a partial government shutdown Friday.
This is just an average winter in Congress these days.
GROWING FRUSTRATION AMONG MAYORKAS IMPEACHMENT MANAGERS ABOUT NOT STARTING A TRIAL
What about an impeachment trial for Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas? The House impeached Mayorkas on Feb. 13. No one really knows the timing of a Senate trial. Eleven House members will serve as "impeachment managers" to prosecute the case before the Senate. But as to their roles and when a Senate trial might begin? The new uniform pants in Major League Baseball are more transparent.
Several of the managers expressed frustration at the dearth of information about what roles they might play in an impeachment trial. One told Fox they had "no clear guidance" from the GOP brass as to what to expect.
In late 2019 and early 2020, Democratic House impeachment managers held "mock trial" sessions and engaged in parliamentary calisthenics behind closed doors to prepare for the first impeachment trial of former President Trump. The Mayorkas managers have held no such sessions. That was why at least one impeachment manager worried that the Senate might demand the trial begin right away. That could make the House members appear foolish and amateurish.
However, a senior House Republican leadership aide said that the brass had briefed all managers — adding they would be "fully prepared" when a trial starts.
It was thought that the Senate may begin its trial as early as Wednesday, but Fox is told not to expect a trial this week. In fact, the impeachment trial may be on hiatus — until lawmakers figure out how to fund the government.
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So this week is a blockbuster as it is.
But imagine what it would have been like had there also been the impeachment trial of Mayorkas — the first impeachment trial of a cabinet secretary since the 1870s.
Since Republicans took control of the House following the 2022 midterms, the U.S. has faced a crisis of governance. Unable to quit their own petty infighting, caught up in ugly leadership squabbles, and unwilling to move without the blessing of Donald Trump, Speaker of the House Mike Johnson now commands a Congress well past the brink of disaster. After being unable to pass necessary legislation and wasting endless hours on a faux impeachment inquiry of Biden that is going nowhere, Republicans have generated such a maelstrom of incompetence that it’s putting millions of lives and the stability of the planet at risk.
Contrary to what Republicans apparently believe, Congress is expected to do things. It has to meet the challenges of the day, promote policies that assist the nation, and deal with the day-to-day affairs that keep government functional. Since they gained their narrow margin, Republicans have done exactly none of these things.
On Tuesday, President Joe Biden summoned Republican congressional leaders to a meeting at the White House. With Ukraine in retreat after running out of critical ammunition and a government shutdown only four days away, this could be the most consequential meeting in decades. Will Republicans wake up for one moment to place the nation and the world ahead of their desire to please Trump and feed their childish egos? Or will they drive the nation, and the world, onto the rocks?
After being selected for speaker on the basis that no one knew who the hell he was so no particular faction was out for his throat, Johnson has shown himself to be singularly inadequate for the role.
As Joan McCarter has reported, Johnson …
Swiftly burned through any honeymoon period and found that his every statement or action was being scrutinized by House members sure that they would do a better job in the big office.
He betrayed other congressional leaders by reneging on a budget deal after everyone thought the issues were settled.
When months of negotiations in the Senate produced a border bill that gave Republicans everything they had been demanding, Johnson refused to even consider it on orders from Trump.
With the clock winding down on the end of the year, Johnson wasted time on a pointless impeachment of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas.
With the stability of the Western world on the line, Johnson has repeatedly dithered and stalled on providing any assistance to Ukraine while Republicans increasingly look to Putin.
And with a government shutdown looming, Johnson sent the House out on a vacation that’s not set to end until three days before the deadline.
Johnson is not just courting disaster, he is a disaster. Either he’s astoundingly ineffectual, or he’s an arsonist set on burning down America. It’s genuinely unclear which of these things is true.
We may find out today.
“Every day that Speaker Johnson causes our national security to deteriorate, America loses,” said White House spokesman Andrew Bates. “And every day that he puts off a clean vote [on assistance to Ukraine], congressional Republicans’ standing with the American people plunges. Running away for an early vacation only worsens both problems.”
Even Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell is tired of the incompetence on the other end of the Capitol. “Shutting down the government is harmful to the country. And it never produces positive outcomes—on policy or politics,” said McConnell.
At the same time everyone is trying to get Johnson to do his job, extremist Republicans in the House Freedom Caucus are doing everything they can to provide more road bumps.
Last week they submitted a list of policy riders to Johnson, including such nonsense items as zeroing out Mayorkas’ salary, blocking military members from traveling out of state to obtain abortions, and defunding environmental and climate policies. In all, there are more than 20 of these poison pills, and the Freedom Caucus is declaring that it will block any attempt to reach an agreement unless America is forced to swallow the whole bottle.
A real speaker, one with respect from the members of their party and the strength to push past fanatics bent on nothing more than causing disruption, would push past this. Unfortunately, America is saddled with Mike Johnson.
That doesn’t make a good outcome impossible, but it certainly makes it almost infinitely more difficult.
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