The idea of impeaching Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas is gaining more steam among Republicans in purple districts as the chaos at the southern border continues to unfold.
Several House GOP lawmakers in swing districts threw their support behind impeaching Mayorkas over the exacerbated border crisis that saw Title 42 expire last week.
California Republican Rep. Mike Garcia told Punchbowl News that he supports impeaching Mayorkas, arguing that the DHS secretary is "going out of his way to allow this invasion on our southern border."
DHS SEC. MAYORKAS TAKES VICTORY LAP AS BORDER SURGE CONTINUES
"When the Joker is acting like the Joker, it’s one thing," Garcia said on Friday. "But when Batman — who’s supposed to be protecting you — starts acting like the Joker, you’ve got to do something about it."
Garcia’s district went for President Biden in the 2020 election and is a target district for Democrats to flip blue.
Fellow California Rep. John Duarte — one of two Republicans who didn’t back the GOP border bill — said Mayorkas’ "failures are obvious" and is considering impeachment.
"At some point, if we believe there is a case there, I’ll probably stick with the party," Duarte said.
Rep. Nancy Mace, R-S.C., also threw her support behind impeaching Mayorkas, telling Punchbowl News an impeachment of the DHS secretary would help vulnerable GOP members.
"Illegal immigration is an American problem. It doesn’t matter if you have an ‘R’ or a ‘D’ or an ‘I’ by your name," Mace said.
New York GOP Rep. Anthony D’Esposito — whose district also went for Biden in 2020 — criticized Mayorkas but didn’t outright back an impeachment effort.
"Secretary Mayorkas is not fulfilling his oath that he took to protect this homeland and protect this nation," D’Esposito said.
Texas GOP Rep. Pat Fallon, who took 67 percent of the vote in the 2022 midterm election, told Punchbow that he hasn't heard his Republican colleagues voicing concerns about bringing impeachment articles against Mayorkas.
"The middle understands the disaster at the border," said Fallon, who introduced impeachment articles against Mayorkas in January. "It’ll help purple districts because it’s more of a 70-30 issue, where only the hard left are the ones who want to keep things as they are."
Other Republicans are not on board with impeaching Mayorkas, with Rep. Don Bacon of Nebraska telling Punchbowl News while the secretary "deserves criticism," he is not behind impeachment.
"But I don’t think Mayorkas is the problem. The president is," he continued.
Inherently an agonizing process for all involved, impeaching a president or cabinet secretary expends a lot of political capital and requires the right winds to fully set sail.
The growing crisis at the border has been brewing a maelstrom for Mayorkas, however, especially as migrants flow in after the end of Title 42. The statute allowed the U.S. to expel migrants at the southern border due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Swing district Republicans supporting a Mayorkas impeachment could signal that they see the benefits of such an effort as outweighing the costs.
This means we could have a ballgame very soon.