2 House members from Florida missed Mayorkas’ impeachment vote over massive Palm Beach flight delays

Posted on February 15, 2024 by Latest Political News on Fox News

Two U.S. House members from Florida missed the vote Tuesday that secured Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas' impeachment due to massive flight delays.

Rep. Brian Mast, R-Fla., said he would vote to impeach Mayorkas, while Rep. Lois Frankel, D-Fla., fully expected to vote against impeaching the Biden Cabinet official, yet both members of Congress failed to get back to Washington, D.C., in time due to massive delays at Palm Beach International Airport.

Mast shared a video to X from the airport "on about hour nine of waiting for a flight with a broken circuit board."

"Hoping to get off the ground soon, but they did just call votes in the House of Representatives as they normally do at this time, and it looks like I’m going to miss the vote to impeach Mayorkas," he said. "I was there for the first one – absolutely voted to do that – but it looks like I’m going to miss this one."

HOUSE REPUBLICAN WHO OVERSAW MAYORKAS IMPEACHMENT WON'T RUN FOR RE-ELECTION

"There’s a couple other Palm Beach reps here as well. Lois Frankel is here in the airport sitting back there behind me," Mast said, showing the seating area next to the flight gate. "A few other representatives from this area that are going to miss it as well. But that is how I would be definitely doing that had I been there – there went Lois walking behind me."

In the post itself, Mast wrote, "Not only is Secretary Mayorkas horrible at his job, he is willfully refusing to do it. Thankfully, despite mechanical failures on my flight, we still had enough votes to impeach him tonight. He has abandoned the trust of the American people, and he deserves to be impeached."

Frankel also confirmed the flight delay in a statement of her own.

"Unfortunately, my flight from Palm Beach to Washington was severely delayed today. I waited at the airport for eight hours, which caused me, along with a Republican colleague on the same flight, to miss the vote. Had I been present, I would have voted no, as I did last week," Frankel said. "House Republicans’ vote to impeach Secretary Mayorkas despite having no evidence of wrongdoing was a shameful political stunt that does nothing to fix our broken immigration system."

The House of Representatives voted Tuesday to impeach Mayorkas over his handling of the border crisis – by just one vote.

The 214-213 vote historically made Mayorkas the first ever sitting U.S. Cabinet official to be impeached. It was nearly 150 years ago that President Ulysses S. Grant’s secretary of war, William Belknap, resigned before the House approved articles of impeachment against him over a kickback scheme in government contracts. The Senate acquitted Belknap that same year, 1876.

USER’S MANUAL TO WHAT’S NEXT NOW THAT THE HOUSE IMPEACHED MAYORKAS

The charges against Mayorkas next go to the Senate for a trial, but neither Democratic nor even some Republican senators have shown interest in the matter, and it may be indefinitely shelved to a committee, according to The Associated Press. The Senate is expected to receive the articles of impeachment from the House after returning to session Feb. 26.

It was House Republicans' second attempt to impeach Mayorkas after a vote failed last week.

Three House Republicans who broke ranks last week over the Mayorkas impeachment – Ken Buck of Colorado, Mike Gallagher of Wisconsin and Tom McClintock of California – all did so again Tuesday. With a 219-212 majority, House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., had few votes to spare. His margin got even smaller later Tuesday night when New York Democrat Thomas Suozzi won a special election to the seat once held by Republican George Santos before his expulsion from Congress.

In a dramatic development the first time around, Rep. Al Green, D-Texas, left the hospital bed where he was recovering from surgery to cast his "no" vote against Mayorkas' impeachment.

Joining the three Republican defectors, Rep. Blake Moore, R-Utah, switched his vote to "no" at the last minute – a procedural move to be able to bring the resolution back to the floor.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Mayors want work permits extended to keep migrants employed, receive new asylum seekers

Posted on February 13, 2024 by Latest Political News on Fox News

More than 40 mayors and county executives from around the country are calling on the federal government to extend work authorizations for illegal migrants, saying that without the measures thousands will lose their jobs, businesses will suffer and districts will find it harder to cater to new asylum seekers.

The elected officials – which include New York City Mayor Eric Adams and Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson – wrote a letter on Monday to Department of Homeland Security Secretary (DHS) Alejandro Mayorkas and U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) Director Ur Jaddou, calling for automatic extensions for existing work permits of at least 540 days.

Historically, migrants have been granted a 180-day grace period if their Employment Authorization Document (EAD) renewal application is still pending.

In 2022, USCIS extended the 180-day grace period to 540 days due to lengthy processing delays.

MAYORKAS DUCKS RESPONSIBILITY ON BORDER CRISIS, MIGRANT FIGURES: 'CONGRESS IS THE ONLY ONE WHO CAN FIX THIS'

That extension expired on Oct. 26 and now the mayors are requesting a "permanent automatic extension of work authorization" in the form of an interim final rule that extends work permits for 540 days or longer.

"Without this, hundreds of thousands of immigrant workers will lose their work authorization, businesses will lose staff, and our cities and counties will face an increasing challenge to provide shelter to the public," the mayors and county executives wrote.

"If DHS does not address this impending crisis, local economies will suffer additional harm in the face of large job losses."

DENVER MAYOR BLAMES REPUBLICANS AND TRUMP FOR $5M CUTS TO PAY FOR MIGRANT CRISIS

The signees wrote that local businesses are still struggling to address the current labor shortage and cannot handle further disruptions to their operations by losing immigrant workers.

"We are concerned that the lengthy delays in adjudicating renewal applications for work authorization have not improved."

They wrote that as of June 2023, there were approximately 263,000 EAD renewal applications pending.

Given these delays, they wrote, hundreds of thousands of immigrants will likely experience a lapse in their work authorization in the coming months.

"As a result, cities and counties are bracing for similar events to transpire, and we are already hearing from businesses who may soon be forced to lay off their workers until their renewed EADs arrive."

The officials also wrote that if extensions are not granted it will "significantly impact our ability to receive newly arrived asylum seekers."

"Cities and counties across the United States are quickly running out of shelter space. If hundreds of thousands of already-employed immigrants lose their jobs, they are likely to lose their homes, and this will result in cities and counties experiencing even greater difficulty providing shelter space and additional services to the public," the letter reads.

"If DHS does not implement a permanent change to the automatic extension, any temporary extension should be for a period of no less than three years, to allow sufficient time for USCIS to work through the extensive work permit renewal backlog. We ask that you act swiftly so that the communities we represent do not experience the destabilizing effects of immigrant workers falling out of the workforce."

The signees are part of a group called the Cities For Action (C4A), made up of nearly 180 U.S. mayors and county executives who advocate for "humane immigration policies that strengthen their cities and reflect the nation’s values of inclusion and opportunity."

Adams, who has criticized the federal government’s response to the crisis, saying it would destroy New York City, said the migrants have a right to work in the Big Apple. At least 170,000 illegal migrants have arrived in New York since the spring of 2022.

"New York City thrives on the diverse and dedicated contributions of these community members and stripping people of their right to work is simply un-American," Adams said in a statement accompanying the letter.

"I'm hopeful the federal government acts swiftly to protect the stability and security of hundreds of thousands of immigrant workers and their families."

CLICK TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

Meanwhile, Denver Mayor Mike Johnston, who last week announced cuts to public services to help fund the cost of his city’s migrant crisis, also signed the letter. About 40,000 migrants, mostly from Venezuela, have arrived in Denver over the past year, and more than 3,500 are living in city-funded hotel rooms, according to the Colorado Sun.

"Over the past few weeks, Denver has seen record-high numbers of migrants arriving in our city, and very few have the ability to work and make a living for their families," said Johnston.

"This has created simultaneous humanitarian and fiscal crises for our city, forcing us to look at significant budget cuts and reduction in services. We know that the ability for migrants to work is critical to Denver’s success, and it is imperative that DHS take immediate action to prevent even more migrants from losing their work authorization."

GOP senator fumes over Biden admin providing veteran medical resources to illegal immigrants

Posted on February 13, 2024 by Latest Political News on Fox News

President Biden is facing increased scrutiny over his administration providing health care administrative services to illegal migrants amid a worsening border crisis, potentially exacerbating long wait times for American veterans utilizing Department of Veterans' Affairs (VA) facilities.

In an interview with Fox News Digital, Sen. Tommy Tuberville, R-Ala., touted his recently introduced No VA Resources for Illegal Aliens Act, which he introduced alongside Rep. Mike Bost, R-Ill., that would ban such action, one of the many problems he says are facing the country as a result of the border "disaster" taking place under Biden's watch.

"[Biden's] decided, OK, we've got to feed all these 10 million people we've let come across the border, we've got to house them, and we've got to give them health care," Tuberville said. "They've opened up care from the doctors in these [VA] community care systems. The lines now in the VA's are getting longer. Our funds that are supposed to go to the veterans are going to these illegal immigrants that are coming across."

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Tuberville lamented that the VA was already not able to provide care for all 19 million veterans living across the country and that the community systems he mentioned had helped reduce wait times until the border crisis began to get worse.

The arrangement between the VA's Financial Service Center (VA-FSC) and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to process claims for migrant medical care is a longstanding one that actually predates the Biden administration and was outlined in a 2020 memo during former President Trump's administration.

When an illegal migrant under ICE detention requires health care, they are typically treated onsite by medical professionals. However, if specialist or emergency care is required, they may be taken to an independent private provider.

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In such cases, ICE contracts with the VA’s Financial Service Center (VA-FSC) to process reimbursements to those providers. According to a report from July, ICE has hundreds of letters of understanding in which ICE’s Health Service Corps (IHSC) will reimburse providers at Medicare rates. That uses the VA-FSC’s Healthcare Claims Processing System, which a portal that allows providers to submit and view claims and access other resources.

The VA told Fox News Digital in December that it has had an interagency agreement with the IHSC since 2002 to provide processing, but it also noted that the department neither provides health care nor pays for it. Under the agreement with IHSC, ICE pays fees for the claims processing services rendered and covers disbursements made to pay for claims.

However, the crisis at the border, with record numbers of migrants crossing into the U.S. and needing medical care, has likely worsened what one former veterans' affairs adviser told Fox News Digital in December was a "history of a backlog of medical claims which has resulted in veterans getting bills they shouldn't be getting, and … having dissatisfied community care providers who are not getting paid in a timely manner."

BIDEN CONSIDERED RESIGNING VICE PRESIDENCY ‘IN PROTEST’ OVER OBAMA'S AFGHANISTAN POLICY: HUR REPORT

Tuberville expressed hope that the bill could get some bipartisan support, considering the election year and that a number of Democrats up for reelection are running close races.

"I think we've got a great opportunity to get this, maybe not to a vote, but at least where we discuss it on the floor, where the American people start to understand it," he said. "An election year is a great year to try to get some kind of bipartisan help on any type of bill, especially when it comes to the veterans. That means so much to us here in our country."

Tuberville went on to blast the Biden administration's selling of border wall materials purchased under the previous administration rather than using them as a barrier to deter border crossings, and he blasted Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, who narrowly survived an impeachment vote last week, as a "globalist" who has no interest in walls or borders.

"If we don't get a guy like President Trump in office, heaven help us. I don't know what we're going to do," he added.

Fox News Digital has reached out to the White House for comment.

Fox News' Adam Shaw and Jamie Joseph contributed to this report.

Mayorkas ducks responsibility on border crisis, migrant figures: ‘Congress is the only one who can fix this’

Posted on February 11, 2024 by Latest Political News on Fox News

Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, who narrowly escaped impeachment last week, said Sunday that the Biden administration doesn't "bear responsibility for a broken system," demanding Congress enact legislation to mitigate what has become an illegal migration crisis during this election year.

"No doubt there is gridlock in Congress. But do you bear responsibility for what is happening at the border with the president himself? It's called a crisis," NBC host Kristen Welker asked during an interview with Mayorkas on "Meet the Press."

"It certainly is a crisis. And we don't bear responsibility for a broken system. And we're doing a tremendous amount within that broken system. But fundamentally … Congress is the only one who can fix it," Mayorkas said.

"There is no question that we have a broken system," he added. "There is no question that we have a challenge, a crisis at the border. And there is no question that Congress needs to fix it. And we're doing everything we can within that broken system, short of legislation to address what is a not just a challenge for the United States but one throughout our region."

HOUSE FAILS TO IMPEACH DHS SECRETARY ALEJANDRO MAYORKAS IN MAJOR BLOW TO GOP

Since Mayorkas took the helm at the Department of Homeland Security three years ago, Welker noted, the asylum case backlog has more than tripled since 2019 and more migrants have crossed the border illegally in 2023 than ever before. She pointed to how Mayorkas himself has said that more than 85% of migrants crossing the border illegally are being released into the U.S. as they await their court dates.

"Let's just put impeachment aside for a minute. Why do you deserve to keep your job, Mr. Secretary?" she asked.

"The data that you cite is a powerful example of why we need legislation to fix what everyone agrees is a broken immigration system," Mayorkas said. "Before the last three years, that case backlog, which is about 3 million cases, has been growing year over year over year. The time between when we encounter an individual at the border and the time of final adjudication of an asylum claim case has been years, five to seven years, for years and years."

"I remember when I entered the Department of Homeland Security in 2009, we were wrestling with these very same issues. The system has not been fixed for 30 years. A bipartisan group of senators have now presented us with the tools and resources we need – bipartisan group. And yet, Congress killed it before even reading it," he said.

Mayorkas was referring to how the U.S. Senate on Wednesday failed to pass a $118 billion supplemental spending agreement that included aid for Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan, as well as an ambitious border security and immigration package that drew widespread opposition from conservative Republicans in both chambers since its release just days earlier. Wednesday's vote was 50-49. It needed 60 votes to pass. The vote went mostly along party lines, except for five Democrat no votes and four Republicans voting yes.

Welker pressed Mayorkas on why President Biden would not shut down the border immediately – as Republicans have called on him to do – and "just let the courts try to stop him."

SENATE TANKS IMMIGRATION, FOREIGN AID SPENDING PACKAGE AFTER GOP BACKLASH AGAINST BORDER PROVISIONS

"We have taken executive actions already. We continuously review what options are available to us, but those are always challenged in the courts, and whether or not they see the light of day and actually are able to be operationalized is an open question," Mayorkas said. "That is why the bipartisan group of senators actually prepared and presented a piece of legislation that would … base it in statute, the ability to close the border for a limited period of time, an extreme measure, and would it would be immune from court challenge because it is statutorily based."

"If it were done legislatively, no doubt you wouldn't have these these legal challenges, but isn't trying to do something better than doing nothing at all? Why doesn't President Biden try to shut down the border? Are you encouraging him to do that?" Welker insisted.

"Well, we have already taken important steps. We certainly haven't done nothing. I will tell you, we issued a regulation that circumvention of lawful pathways that increased, that actually created a rebuttable presumption of ineligibility for asylum seekers if they did not avail themselves of the lawful pathways that we built. And so we've done a tremendous amount. It's very important to remember we have removed, returned or expelled more individuals in the past three years than the prior administration did in all four."

Asked if he was considering reinstating the Remain in Mexico policy on Sunday, Mayorkas told Welker, "First of all, it depends upon Mexico's agreement. And Mexico has articulated publicly that it will not allow the re-implementation of Remain in Mexico, number one. Number two, it's been challenged in the courts. And number three, remember something, that Remain in Mexico was implemented in January of 2019. In 2019, there was almost a 100% increase in the number of encounters at our southwest border over 2018."

The Republican-led House of Representatives on Tuesday failed to impeach Mayorkas over his handling of the crisis at the southern border. It was considered a crushing defeat for the Republican majority, which held hearings throughout 2023 on Mayorkas' apparent "dereliction of duty" and additional hearings on the impeachment articles themselves this year.

Lawmakers accused Mayorkas of disregarding federal law with "open border policies" that have made the ongoing crisis at the southern border worse. They have pointed to the rolling back of Trump-era policies, like border wall construction and Remain in Mexico, and reducing interior enforcement and expanding "catch-and-release." They say it has fueled record numbers at the southern border, breaching the 300,000 mark in December.

Fox News' Elizabeth Elkind and Adam Shaw contributed to this report.

Gaetz says George Santos ‘never missed more’ following failed Mayorkas ouster

Posted on February 8, 2024 by Latest Political News on Fox News

Republican Florida Rep. Matt Gaetz said his former colleague George Santos has never been missed more following a failed impeachment vote.

The GOP failed to impeach Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas on Tuesday after three Republicans defected from the party line and voted against the measure.

"As I am watching that board, and it’s 215-215, I have never missed George Santos more," Gaetz told Newsmax.

Those who voted no were Reps. Tom McClintock, R-Calif.; Ken Buck, R-Colo.; and Mike Gallagher, R-Wis. The lawmakers said while they disapproved of the job Mayorkas is doing at the southern border, the threshold for impeachment had not been met and warned it could be used against future Republican administrations.

HOUSE FAILS TO IMPEACH DHS SECRETARY ALEJANDRO MAYORKAS IN MAJOR BLOW TO GOP

The final vote came to 214-216 after Democratic Texas Rep. Al Green showed up on the House floor in scrubs to vote against the measure.

Santos was expelled from the U.S. House of Representatives on Dec. 1 because of charges he faces related to allegations of defrauding campaign contributors and, according to a House Ethics Committee Report, using campaign funds to purchase luxury items and spa treatments.

HERE ARE THE 3 HOUSE REPUBLICANS WHO TORPEDOED MAYORKAS' IMPEACHMENT VOTE

"I also wondered, wouldn’t it have been nice to still have Kevin McCarthy in the House of Representatives? Never thought you’d hear me say that," the Florida representative said.

McCarthy announced in early December that he would step down, two months after his historic ouster as House speaker.

The announcement capped a stunning end to a House career for the one-time deli counter owner, who ascended through state and national politics to become second in line to the presidency, until a cluster of hard-right conservatives engineered his removal in October.

"Kevin McCarthy — after being dislodged as speaker — took his marbles and went home," Gaetz added during his appearance.

McCarthy's departure set off a scramble to replace him that is being sorted out in court. A state judge earlier ruled that a McCarthy protégé, Republican Assemblyman Vince Fong, could appear on the ballot as a candidate for the former speaker's seat, even though he earlier filed for reelection for his Assembly seat. That decision is being appealed by the state.

McCarthy is the only speaker in history to be voted out of the job.

Fox News' Greg Wehner, Adam Shaw and The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Shooting blanks: How Republicans misfired when they tried to impeach Mayorkas

Posted on February 8, 2024 by Latest Political News on Fox News

"There is nothing more exhilarating than to be shot at with no result." – Winston Churchill

Late Secretary of War William Belknap can rest easy. He remains the sole U.S. cabinet official ever impeached.

For now.

The House impeached Belknap in 1876.

The House failed to impeach Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas in 2024.

THE HITCHHIKER’S GUIDE TO WHY REP. BLAKE MOORE FLIPPED FROM YEA TO NAY ON IMPEACHING MAYORKAS

For now.

Belknap’s ignominious status in American history is still in tact because – get this – a lawmaker required emergency surgery. Then when the infirm member unexpectedly surfaced at the Capitol, the House lacked the votes to propel Mayorkas into that elite pantheon occupied only by Belknap.

The Hippocratic Oath may read "do no harm." But it says nothing about hurting impeachment.

Republicans made impeachment of Mayorkas the touchstone of the 119th Congress. And after much braying about the border, the performance of Mayorkas and a myriad of other grievances, the House GOP stumbled when it really mattered.

It failed to impeach Mayorkas.

The vote was tight. Tighter than a new pair of shoes on a rainy day, as yours truly said live on the air during the vote.

215 yeas. 215 nays.

Three Republicans voted nay: Reps. Mike Gallagher (R-Wis.), Tom McClintock (R-Calif.) and Ken Buck (R-Colo.).

But by rule, a tie vote loses in the House.

Suddenly House Republican Conference Chairman Blake Moore (R-Utah), the fifth highest-ranking GOPer, switched his vote to nay.

Four Republican noes!

The vote tally flipped to 214 yeas to 216 nays.

The gig was up. The House would not impeach Mayorkas.

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So why would Moore, a senior member of the leadership, change his vote? A change of heart? Was this "Invasion of the Body Snatchers?" Was he turning rogue against his own party?

None of the above.

Moore’s "nay" vote against impeaching Mayorkas deserves an asterisk compared to the votes of Gallagher, McClintock and Buck. Moore wants to impeach Mayorkas. In fact, Moore’s maneuver preserved the Republican gambit to potentially impeach Mayorkas in the future.

To wit:

House rules enable any member on the PREVAILING side of a roll call vote (in this instance, the NAYS) to "move to reconsider" a vote. In other words, demand a re-vote.

Moore was a yea – but on the losing side. Gallagher, McClintock and Buck certainly weren’t going to move to order a re-vote. They opposed impeachment. So, someone on the GOP leadership needed to switch their vote to nay to potentially resuscitate the Mayorkas impeachment plan.

Moore altered his vote to no. Not because he opposes impeaching Mayorkas. But now he was on the "winning" side." House Republicans could summon the Mayorkas impeachment vote again. In fact, House Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-La.) probably would have changed his vote had he been present. But Scalise is out for cancer treatments and has not voted this year. Republicans might have the votes when Scalise returns. Republicans could also have reinforcements if the GOP wins the special election on Long Island next week. Republicans hope GOP nominee Mazi Melesa Pilip defeats former Rep. Tom Suozzi (D-N.Y.) for the vacant seat once held by expelled former Rep. George Santos (R-N.Y.). Then Republicans might have the votes to impeach.

Scalise will be back. But if Suozzi defeats Pilip, it’s possible Republicans may never have the votes to impeach Mayorkas.

House Republicans badly bungled impeachment. They violated a fundamental tenet of Capitol Hill.

It’s always about the math.

The House took two roll call votes earlier on Tuesday. A total of 425 members in the 431 member House cast ballots. After the House finished a lengthy debate on impeaching Mayorkas, it was time to hold another vote series. However, Republicans made a decision not to vote on impeachment first. The House instead voted first on the "Chesapeake and Ohio Canal National Historical Park Commission Extension Act."

That proved to be a tactical error by the GOP. It created a false sense of security about the Mayorkas vote.

Republicans wanted the House to vote first on the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal bill to get a sense of the universe of members voting. The canal bill would serve as a "test" vote to determine how many Republicans the majority could lose on impeachment.

Wise move. But it backfired.

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Putting the canal bill first may have sunk impeachment.

Cry me a river.

The House approved the bill about the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal 427 to 2. So the total number of members voting rose from 425 earlier in the day to a new high-water mark of 429. There were two absences. Scalise and Rep. Al Green (D-Texas) who was out for surgery.

But that’s where the problem came.

Republicans didn’t count on Green voting. Aides and medical attendants dramatically rolled Green into the Capitol in a wheelchair. He wore a blue hospital gown and tan footies.

The universe of members casting ballots suddenly swelled to 430 as Green cast his ballot against impeachment.

A senior House Democratic aide confided to Fox that putting the vote on the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal helped the Democrats "hide" Green. That lured Republicans into a state of illusory comfort. They thought they had the votes to impeach, unaware that Democrats were about to thwart them.

Green may have been prone on a hospital gurney earlier in the day. But that didn’t mean he couldn’t put impeachment to bed.

"He made it clear to me that it was important for him to be present to cast a vote against this sham impeachment led by (Rep.) Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.), targeting a hard-working public servant like Secretary Mayorkas," said House Minority Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.).

Jeffries noted that he did not request that Green swoop in to short-circuit the impeachment vote. This was all on Green.

And so Republicans had a choice. Either let the vote fail 215-215. Or safeguard their options for later.

The GOP chose the latter.

Of course, impeachment resolutions are "privileged." That means any member could just put forth an impeachment plan again and the House would have to take it up. But by maintaining the current articles, the GOP also conserves the current investigation, committee report and other documents. This also gives Republicans more credibility if and when they present their impeachment articles to the Senate during a possible trial.

The House has only defeated articles of impeachment once before. The House only adopted two of the articles of impeachment leveled against former President Clinton in December 1997.

So Republicans may try impeachment again in the future. Maybe Scalise is here. Maybe Pilip wins. But you can never know exactly how many people are going to show up in the House.

You try to get 431 people in the same room at the same time. Members are always away for random reasons. Illness. Family commitments. Funerals. Events in the district. You name it.

So Republicans took a shot at Mayorkas. And missed.

For now.

As Churchill said, that must be an exhilarating feeling for Mayorkas.

Republicans took their shot. And got no result.

Foiled by a man in a hospital gown.

Here are the 3 House Republicans who torpedoed Mayorkas’ impeachment vote

Posted on February 7, 2024 by Latest Political News on Fox News

House Republicans were dealt a crushing defeat on Tuesday when a months-long effort to impeach Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas over his handling of the crisis at the southern border failed – with three GOP lawmakers breaking ranks and voting against the measure.

The vote was 214-216. Lawmakers voted on a resolution combining two articles of impeachment that accused Mayorkas of having "refused to comply with Federal immigration laws" and the other of having violated "public trust."

While the House voted mostly along party lines, with Democrats remaining united against the measure, three Republicans voted against it, with another lawmaker switching his vote at the last minute to allow for the resolution to be brought back to the floor.

THE HITCHHIKER'S GUIDE TO WHY REP. BLAKE MOORE FLIPPED FROM YEA TO NAY ON IMPEACHING MAYORKAS

Those who voted no were Reps. Tom McClintock, R-Calif., Ken Buck, R-Colo., and Mike Gallagher, R-Wis. The lawmakers said while they disapproved of the job Mayorkas is doing at the southern border, the threshold for impeachment had not been met, and warned it could be used against future Republican administrations.

"Secretary Mayorkas is guilty of maladministration of our immigration laws on a cosmic scale. But we know that’s not grounds for impeachment, because the American Founders specifically rejected it," McClintock said on the House floor. "They didn’t want political disputes to become impeachment because that would shatter the separation of powers that vests the enforcement of the laws with the president, no matter how bad a job he does."

Gallagher said Mayorkas "has faithfully implemented President Biden’s open border policies and helped create the dangerous crisis at the southern border."

"But the proponents of impeachment failed to make the argument as to how his stunning incompetence meets the impeachment threshold Republicans outlined while defending former President Trump," he said in a statement, warning that a lower standard wouldn’t secure the border, "and will set a dangerous new precedent that will be weaponized against future Republican administrations."

HOUSE FAILS TO IMPEACH DHS SECRETARY ALEJANDRO MAYORKAS IN MAJOR BLOW TO GOP

Buck was also critical of Mayorkas but did not believe the standard for impeachment had been met.

"In effect, we are now doing what we rightfully said House Democrats were doing in 2019 and 2021: pushing a partisan impeachment not based on what the Constitution actually states," he said in an op-ed for the Hill.

Meanwhile, Rep. Blake Moore, R-Utah, technically voted no but switched his vote at the last minute in a procedural move to be able to bring the resolution back to the floor.

The defeat marks a significant blow for House Republicans, who had pushed the impeachment of Mayorkas for over a year, and have accused him of disregarding federal law with "open border policies" that have worsened the ongoing crisis at the southern border.

GOP LAWMAKER ON KEY IMMIGRATION SUBCOMMITTEE SLAMS MAYORKAS IMPEACHMENT

Democrats and DHS accused Republicans of running a politically motivated impeachment that had no constitutional basis.

"This baseless impeachment should never have moved forward; it faces bipartisan opposition and legal experts resoundingly say it is unconstitutional," DHS spokesperson Mia Ehrenberg said after the vote on Tuesday. "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."

"Secretary Mayorkas remains focused on working across the aisle to promote real solutions at the border and keep our country safe," she said.

Republicans, however, indicated that they would likely vote again on the resolution when Rep. Steve Scalise, R-La., returns from cancer treatment.

"While I’m disappointed in the outcome of today’s vote, this is not the end of our efforts to hold Secretary Mayorkas accountable," House Homeland Security Chair Mark Green, R-Tenn., said in a statement. "I look forward to Leader Scalise’s return."

Fox News' Elizabeth Elkind and Chad Pergram contributed to this report.

House fails to impeach DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas in major blow to GOP

Posted on February 6, 2024 by Latest Political News on Fox News

The Republican-led House of Representatives on Tuesday failed to impeach Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas over his handling of the crisis at the southern border – marking a major blow for House Republicans who have pushed for Mayorkas' removal.

The House voted mostly along party lines, but Republicans suffered a number of defections that torpedoed the vote. Four Republicans ultimately voted no: Rep. Tom McClintock, R-Calif., Ken Buck, R-Colo., Mike Gallagher, R-Wis., and Blake Moore, R-Utah, who switched his vote at the last minute in a procedural move to be able to bring the resolution back to the floor.

But Democrats remained united. The vote was 216-214. Lawmakers voted on a resolution combining two articles of impeachment that accused Mayorkas of having "refused to comply with Federal immigration laws" and the other of having violated "public trust." A Cabinet secretary has not been impeached since 1876, when Secretary of War William Belknap was impeached.

GOP LAWMAKER ON KEY IMMIGRATION SUBCOMMITTEE SLAMS MAYORKAS IMPEACHMENT

The move is a crushing defeat for the Republican majority, which held hearings throughout 2023 on Mayorkas' "dereliction of duty" and additional hearings on the impeachment articles themselves earlier this year. Lawmakers accused Mayorkas of disregarding federal law with "open border policies" that have made the ongoing crisis at the southern border worse. They have pointed to the rolling back of Trump-era policies, like border wall construction and "Remain in Mexico," and reducing interior enforcement and expanding "catch-and-release." They say it has fueled record numbers at the southern border, breaching the 300,000 mark in December.

"Under Secretary Mayorkas’ watch, Customs and Border Protection has reported more than 8.5 million encounters at our borders, including more than 7 million apprehensions at the southwest border," Homeland Security Committee Chair Mark Green, R-Tenn., said on the House floor. "Even more terrifying is the approximately 1.8 million known gotaways that Border Patrol agents detect but are unable to apprehend. Millions of those inadmissible aliens who are encountered are eventually released into our communities. This has never happened before in our history. And it doesn’t happen by accident."

Green said Republicans had been left with "no other option" than to proceed.

"We, the people's representatives, have no opinion, no option but to exercise this duty when branch officials blatantly refuse to comply with the laws we have passed threaten the separation of powers, imperiled the constitutional order, and expose Americans to untold suffering and death," he said.

Democrats and the administration have painted the impeachment push as politically motivated on nothing more than policy disagreements, and nothing that approaches high crimes and misdemeanors.

"Far from alleging high crimes and misdemeanors, this resolution relies on the same tired and untrue Republican talking points that Democrats have demonstrated for months are not true," said Rep. Pramila Jayapal, D-Wash.

Homeland Security Committee ranking member Bennie Thompson, D-Miss., called the push a "travesty" and an "affront to the Constitution."

"Rather than doing what's right for America because it's clear that Republicans have failed to make the case for impeachment. They have failed to articulate a single high crime and misdemeanor. The other side of the aisle reeks of desperation," he said.

Mayorkas himself has attacked the push against him, calling the allegations "false" and "baseless."

MAYORKAS LASHES OUT AT ‘BASELESS’ GOP ALLEGATIONS AHEAD OF KEY IMPEACHMENT VOTE

"I assure you that your false accusations do not rattle me and do not divert me from the law enforcement and broader public service mission to which I have devoted most of my career and to which I remain devoted," Mayorkas said.

DHS has pointed to more than 500,000 removals since May and record seizures of fentanyl at the border to counteract claims that it has pursued open border policies. It has also called on Republicans to provide more funding and to work with the administration to fix a "broken" immigration system. It had highlighted Republicans and former DHS officials who have opposed the impeachment effort.

"Secretary Mayorkas remains focused on working across the aisle to promote real solutions at the border and keep our country safe," she said.

Democrats, meanwhile, were gleeful at the defeat for the majority.

"House Republicans just tried to impeach Secretary Mayorkas purely as a political stunt: AND THEY FAILED," Jayapal said on X, formerly known as Twitter. "As they keep wasting their time in the majority, Democrats will continue working for the American people."

However, at least one Republican suggested the fight might not be over.

"I will not STOP until Secretary Mayorkas is IMPEACHED," Rep. Tony Gonzales, R-Texas, posted. "House Republicans will hold the administration accountable, no matter how many votes it takes!"

Top Republican says Dems ‘will answer’ at ballot box for not backing Mayorkas impeachment

Posted on February 6, 2024 by Latest Political News on Fox News

House Majority Whip Tom Emmer on Tuesday predicted Democrats will pay at the ballot box for failing to back the impeachment of DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, ahead of a vote on impeachment articles later in the evening.

"I think the Democrats are making a mistake once again, especially some of the folks in South Texas, some of the people in New York and other states where immigration has become a huge issue, Illegal immigration. I think they're making a mistake by not supporting this. And they will answer for that at the ballot box," he said.

Emmer spoke to Fox News Digital ahead of votes on two articles of impeachment which accuse Mayorkas of having "repeatedly violated laws enacted by Congress regarding immigration and border security" and of having "made false statements to Congress" that the border is secure and closed and that DHS is in operational control of the border.

GOP LAWMAKER ON KEY IMMIGRATION SUBCOMMITTEE SLAMS MAYORKAS IMPEACHMENT ‘FANTASY’

The vote is expected to go mostly along party lines, but Republicans have so far seen two lawmakers announce they will be voting against the articles. Rep. Tom McClintock, R-Calif., issued a scathing statement against the articles earlier Tuesday, while Rep. Ken Buck, R-Colo., is also expected to vote against the legislation. The House majority is slim and Republicans can only afford three defections if all lawmakers are present and all Democrats vote against impeachment.

Emmer says he doesn’t share whip counts with anybody, but rejected criticism that Republicans were impeaching Mayorkas over policy differences and said that the House will "perform our constitutional obligation tonight."

"This literally is about somebody who has willfully, willfully, and systematically, created an agency's ability to subvert our laws. They are literally violating our laws," he said.

HOUSE TEES UP VOTE ON IMPEACHING MAYORKAS OVER BORDER CRISIS

Republicans have accused Mayorkas and the administration of fueling the crisis with "open border" policies including "catch-and-release," reduced interior enforcement and the rolling back of Trump-era policies they believe helped secure the border. Mayorkas has denied those claims even amid record numbers at the border, and found support from Democrats and some former DHS officials among others. Former Bush-era DHS Secretary Michael Chertoff recently called on Republicans to "drop this impeachment charade" and work with Mayorkas to solve the crisis.

Mayorkas himself defended himself against impeachment last week in a letter to Republicans, in which he slammed the allegations as "false" and "baseless" and called on Congress to reform a broken system and provide more funding.

Should Mayorkas be impeached it’ll be the first such impeachment of a cabinet secretary since the 1800s.

"This vote is appropriate because of the individual who has purposely, willfully violated the law, and refused to do his job," Emmer told Fox. "I think that's one, but two, it's also the only thing we can do at this point. It's the only tool we're left with. Because, we have got a White House that refuses to do anything, and we have one-half of one-third of government."

MAYORKAS LASHES OUT AT ‘BASELESS’ GOP ALLEGATIONS AHEAD OF KEY IMPEACHMENT VOTE

Meanwhile, in the upper chamber, a Senate border deal announced this week has faced significant opposition in the House -- but looks like it won’t even make the chamber amid massive opposition in the Senate as well.

Emmer said he was not surprised at the bill's struggles, and took aim at the inclusions in the package -- including the emergency border authority that would kick in to allow expulsions if there was a 7-day average of over 5,000 encounters a day.

"Five thousand a day before you have shutdown authority? One coming across the southern border is too many at this point and that just wasn't going to fly," he said. "I think the rumors we heard turned out to be true and worse. In effect, that bill is codified catch and release…it's making into law the very law that Mayorkas is violating."

"I think once the senators saw the text filing and read it, they realized how bad this was and this is not where the American people are. They're going to side with the American people instead of this lawlessness that we're seeing out of the Biden administration," he said.

Emmer stressed that a deal should deal with five issues he believes the House package dealt with: Restoring the Trump-era Remain-in-Mexico policy; reforming the broad use of humanitarian parole; restricting asylum laws; ending "catch-and-release"; and finishing the construction of a wall at the southern border.

"You've got to address those five things that are in H.R. 2. You have to have all well, maybe you can't get them all because we only have one-half of one-third of our federal government. But at a minimum, you should be restoring of remain in Mexico and you should be ending catch and release," he said.

Fox News' Elizabeth Elkind contributed to this report.

Karine Jean-Pierre blames GOP for failure to secure border despite Democrats being in charge on day 1

Posted on February 6, 2024 by Latest Political News on Fox News

White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre on Tuesday repeatedly blamed Republicans after the collapse of a bipartisan deal that paired border policy changes with billions in wartime aid for Ukraine.

Throughout the press conference, Jean-Pierre accused the GOP of playing games with national security and not having a spine for supporting the deal. She said President Biden, in contrast, had taken the border issue seriously "from day one."

"He said, ‘I’m going to put forward a legislation,' a comprehensive immigration legislation that was introduced more than three years ago … and [Republicans]," have failed to act, Jean-Pierre said when asked if President Biden bore some responsibility for the collapsed deal.

Later on, Fox News’ Peter Doocy pressed Jean-Pierre on the matter.

"So, you guys talk a lot – including today – about how the border wouldn’t be such a big deal if Congress would have just passed your immigration bill on day one," Doocy asked. "Who was in charge of Congress on day one?"

SEN. ROGER MARSHALL DEMANDS SOUTHERN BORDER CRISIS BE CLASSIFIED AS ‘AN INVASION’

Jean-Pierre said the Biden administration has called on Congress to act since Biden took office more than three years ago, but Republicans "have gotten in the way" of trying to fix the border by using the immigration crisis as a political stunt.

When President Biden took office, Democrats controlled both the House and the Senate. Republicans took back the House by a slim majority in the 2022 midterm elections.

After taking office, Biden signed two executive orders on immigration and pledged to roll back many of the policies put in place by his predecessor, former President Donald Trump. Within a few months, Biden took more than 90 actions related to the border.

Under the president’s stewardship, illegal immigration has skyrocketed to historic levels. The Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) report for fiscal 2023 showed that the number of illegal immigrants on the non-detained docket soared from 3.7 million in FY 2021 to nearly 4.8 million in FY 2022 to nearly 6.2 million in FY 2023.

HOUSE CLEARS WAY TO ADVANCE IMPEACHMENT ARTICLES OF DHS SECRETARY MAYORKAS

The number of illegal immigrants being deported has increased, according to the report, but it is still a fraction of the increase in the illegal immigrant population. There were 142,580 removals in FY 23, up considerably from 72,177 in FY 22 and 59,011 in FY 21, but still down from the highs of 267,258 under the Trump administration in FY 19.

With the 2024 election looming, Biden has for months engaged in a plan to pair policies intended to curb illegal crossings at the U.S.-Mexico border with $60 billion in wartime aid for Ukraine. The bill would have also sent tens of billions of dollars more for Israel, other U.S. allies in Asia, the U.S. immigration system and humanitarian aid for civilians in Gaza and Ukraine.

But after Republicans backed away from the compromise, the president and Senate leaders are now stranded with no clear way to advance aid for Ukraine through Congress. They have run into a wall of opposition from conservatives — led by Trump — who reject the border proposal as insufficient and criticize the Ukraine funding as wasteful.

Biden laid the blame for the bill's demise squarely on Trump — his presumed Republican opponent in the November presidential election.

"For the last 24 hours he's done nothing, I'm told, but reach out to Republicans in the House and the Senate and threaten them and try to intimidate them to vote against this proposal," Biden said. "It looks like they're caving. Frankly, they owe it to the American people to show some spine and do what they know to be right."

Meanwhile, House lawmakers have cleared the way to advance an impeachment resolution against Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, for alleging "refusing to enforce our nation's laws."

"An architect of destruction at our southern border, the secretary has caused serious injury to society, as the Founding Fathers discussed," Rep. McCaul, R-Texas, said in a statement.

Fox News’ Adam Shaw contributed to this report.