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 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.

SEN. RAND PAUL SLAMS GOP LEADERSHIP FOR 'DRAGGING' CAUCUS INTO 'DEAD' BIPARTISAN BORDER BILL WITH DEMOCRATS

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.

SENATE TO VOTE ON FUNDING FOR ISRAEL AND UKRAINE AS IMMIGRATION DEAL SET TO GO DOWN IN FLAMES

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.

DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas says he won’t resign if impeached

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

Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas tells Fox News he would not resign if he were to be impeached.

Mayorkas, 64, made these comments to Fox News’ Matt Finn during a security presser in Las Vegas ahead of the Super Bowl on Sunday.

"I’ll gladly answer it again. The allegations are baseless and I'm focused on the work, which was what brings me to Las Vegas today," Mayorkas said Wednesday.

The comments come after a failed push by House Republicans to impeach the DHS secretary over his handling of the U.S.-Mexico border.

Republicans were forced to shelve the priority after a few GOP lawmakers refused to go along with the party’s plan.

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The stunning roll call Tuesday fell just a single vote short of impeaching Mayorkas, stalling the Republicans' drive to punish the Biden administration over its handling of the U.S-Mexico border.

With Democrats united against the charges, the Republicans needed almost every vote from their slim majority to approve the articles of impeachment.

House Speaker Mike Johnson's spokesman Raj Shah said they "fully intend" to reconsider the articles of impeachment against Mayorkas "when we have the votes for passage."

But the next steps are uncertain. In the end, three Republicans opposed the impeachment, and a fourth Republican switched his vote so that the measure could be revisited. The final tally was 214-216.

Not since 1876 has a Cabinet secretary faced impeachment charges, and it's the first time a sitting secretary faced impeachment — 148 years ago, Secretary of War William Belknap resigned just before the vote.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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.

CBP migrant encounters already exceed 1 million since October

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

U.S. Customs and Border Protection has tracked over 1 million migrant encounters since Oct. 1st, when fiscal year 2024 began, a CBP source told Fox News Digital on Wednesday, the earliest this mark has ever been reached.

The number is roughly 100,000 encounters higher than the same period last year, when the U.S. saw 908,000 encounters. This is the earliest the U.S. has ever reached the 1 million encounter mark, according to the CBP source.

The U.S. is also tracking a higher number of Chinese migrants crossing the border. Chinese illegal immigrants made up the fastest-growing group of border crossers last year, and fiscal year 2024 is on track to shatter that record.

The CBP encountered over 37,000 Chinese migrants last year, but they have already encountered nearly 20,000 since October. The CBP source says they have encountered roughly 150 Chinese migrants per day this fiscal year.

GOP SENATORS RALLY AGAINST BIPARTISAN BORDER DEAL, CITING BIDEN’S POWER TO SUSPEND ‘EMERGENCY’ BILL

The news comes just after a bipartisan immigration bill crashed and burned in Congress this week.

Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, and other critics of the bill argued that it would "normalize" 5,000 border encounters each day.

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

"That works out to 1.8 million a year. That works out to about 6 million illegal immigrants over the three years of Biden…. So the idiotic Republican proposal was let's be for two thirds of the border invasion that Biden has allowed," Cruz told Fox News on Tuesday.

The House of Representatives also failed to impeach Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas in a vote on Tuesday.

The House voted mostly along party lines, but Republicans suffered a number of defections that torpedoed the 216-214 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.

GOP LAWMAKER ON KEY IMMIGRATION SUBCOMMITTEE SLAMS MAYORKAS IMPEACHMENT

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.

Border crossings have set several records in recent months. December saw 302,000 migrant encounters alone, the highest total for a single month ever recorded. It was also the first time a monthly total had exceeded 300,000.

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

The Hitchhiker’s Guide to why Rep. Blake Moore flipped from Yea to Nay on impeaching Mayorkas

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

There were four Republicans who voted no tonight against impeaching Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas. Reps. Mike Gallagher (R-Wis.), Tom McClintock (R-CA), Ken Buck (R-Colo.) and House Vice Conference Chairman Blake Moore (R-Utah) – a member of the Republican leadership.

But Moore’s "nay" vote against impeaching Mayorkas deserves an asterisk. He’s not really against impeaching Mayorkas. Moore voted no so the Republican effort to impeach Mayorkas could live to fight another day.

FOUR HOUSE REPUBLICANS VOTE AGAINST IMPEACHMENT OF ALEJANDRO MAYORKAS

To wit:

Moore was on the board as a yea in favor of impeaching Mayorkas. But the GOP miscalculated how many yea votes that they had – as well as how many Democrats present and available to vote no.

The current breakdown in the 431 member House is 219 Republicans to 212 Democrats with four vacancies.

Republicans can only lose three votes. But that’s if all of their members are present. House Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-La.) has not voted all year due to cancer treatments. Scalise tells FOX he will be back soon.

So as soon as the Mayorkas impeachment vote went to 215-215, the gig was up for impeaching Mayorkas.

At least on Tuesday night.

By rule, a tie vote loses in the House. So the Mayorkas impeachment effort was going down to defeat.

Only on one occasion before has the House ever defeated articles of impeachment. In December 1997, the House only adopted two of the articles of impeachment leveled against former President Clinton.

WHY DID THE HOUSE FAIL TO IMPEACH MAYORKAS?

So what were Republicans to do in order to salvage their impeachment gambit?

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. So, it fell to a member of the House GOP brass.

Moore changed his vote to no. Not because he opposes impeaching Mayorkas. But now he was on the "winning" side." This preserved the option for House Republicans to summon the vote again. Perhaps when Scalise is back. Or if Republicans win the special election on Long Island next week. The GOP hopes that Republican nominee Mazi Melesa Pilip defeats former Rep. Tom Suozzi (D-N.Y.) for the seat vacated by expelled former Rep. George Santos (R-N.Y.). Then Republicans might have some reinforcements to impeach…

Of course, that presumes that other Republicans aren’t absent that day.

As I always say, YOU try to get more than 400 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.

TOP REPUBLICAN SAYS DEMS 'WILL ANSWER' AT BALLOT BOX FOR NOT BACKING MAYORKAS IMPEACHMENT

Of course, impeachment resolutions are "privileged." That means any member could just put forth an impeachment plan again right away and the House would have to take it up. But by preserving the impeachment investigation, committee report and other documents, the maneuver by Moore enables the Republican leadership to preserve the impeachment gambit launched by the Homeland Security Committee – and try again. Maintaining that more exhaustive impeachment plan will also give the GOP more credibility if and when they present their impeachment articles to the Senate for a possible trial.

Moreover, having a key member change their vote to potentially order a re-vote in the House is rare. It happens with some degree of regularity in the Senate. Over the years Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) and the late Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) would often be compelled to change their votes from yes to no – in order to call for a re-vote on a failed issue.

Moore’s effort was not unprecedented in the House. But something seen more often across the Capitol dome in the Senate.

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.

"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.

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.

GOP lawmaker on key immigration subcommittee slams Mayorkas impeachment ‘fantasy’ as vote count tightens

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

A House Republican on a key immigration subcommittee announced Tuesday that he will vote against impeaching Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, dealing a significant blow to GOP efforts to impeach the Biden official ahead of a vote expected later in the day.

"The only way to stop the border invasion is to replace the Biden administration at the ballot box. Swapping one leftist for another is a fantasy, solves nothing, excuses Biden’s culpability, and unconstitutionally expands impeachment that someday will bite Republicans," Rep. Tom McClintock, R-Calif., who heads the Judiciary subcommittee on immigration, said on X, formerly known as Twitter.

Later on the House floor, he called it a "stunt."

HOUSE TEES UP VOTE ON IMPEACHING MAYORKAS OVER BORDER CRISIS

The House is expected to vote later 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.

McClintock’s "no" joins that of Rep. Ken Buck, R-Colo. Fox News Digital is also told that Rep, Mike Gallagher, R-Wis., also raised concerns about impeaching Mayorkas at a closed-door meeting of the House Republican Conference. The House majority is slim and Republicans can only afford three defections if all lawmakers are present and all Democrats vote against impeachment.

Should the impeachment push fail, it would signify an enormous blow to House Republicans who spent much of 2023 investigating Mayorkas for his handling of the crisis at the southern border, before referring articles to the House Homeland Security Committee late last year.

The committee advanced the two articles last week. If Mayorkas is impeached, then it will go to the Senate for a trial.

Speaker Mike Johnson said that he had spoken to McClintock and Buck about their objections to the move to impeach the Cabinet Secretary -- which would make it the first impeachment since 1876.

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

" I respect everybody's view. I understand the heavy weight that impeachment is…next to the declaration of war, I believe impeachment is probably the heaviest authority that the House has given in the Constitution," he said. "We carry that weight very carefully. What I will say about this Mayorkas impeachment is that the Homeland Security Committee has done an extraordinary job, a very deliberate job as you know over a long period of time.

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. They also accuse Mayorkas of not following immigration law, which they say demands the detention of illegal immigrants, and of failing to secure the border. Mayorkas has vigorously denied those claims.

"The constitutional case and evidence for impeaching Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas is strong and compelling," Committee Chair Mark Green said in an op-ed for The Washington Examiner this week. "My committee’s nearly year-long investigation identified Secretary Mayorkas’ willful and systemic refusal to comply with U.S. immigration laws and his breach of the public trust as the primary drivers of the unprecedented crisis at America’s borders."

MARJORIE TAYLOR GREENE PREDICTS MAYORKAS IMPEACHMENT ARTICLES WILL PASS HOUSE WITHOUT ANY DEM SUPPORT

But the process has come under fire from the Department of Homeland Security, as well as House Democrats and some Republicans. They see a pre-determined politically motivated push for impeachment based on policy disagreements rather than high crimes and misdemeanors, and the Biden administration has instead pointed to efforts made to secure the border by Mayorkas -- including his role in a bipartisan Senate deal released this week. They have also pointed to more than 500,000 removals since May and record seizures of fentanyl at the border.

"House Republicans have failed to provide any legitimate Constitutional grounds for impeachment according to countless legal experts of diverse political views, House Republicans’ own prior impeachment witness, and their fellow GOP Members," DHS officials said in a recent memo.

Mayorkas himself defended himself against impeachment last week in a letter to Republicans, in which he slammed the allegations as "false" and "baseless."

Other voices against the impeachment of Mayorkas include Jonathan Turley, who was a witness for the House majority earlier this year, and Alan Dershowitz, who was former President Trump’s defense lawyer during the first impeachment effort against him. Former Bush-era DHS Secretary Michael Chertoff recently called on Republicans to "drop this impeachment charade" and work with Mayorkas to solve the crisis.

House committee votes to advance impeachment case against DHS Secretary Mayorkas to full chamber

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

The Republican-led House Rules Committee on Monday voted 8-4 to send an impeachment case against Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas to the full chamber for a vote.

A vote on the articles of impeachment in the House – which Republicans hold by a slim margin – could come as early as Tuesday.

BORDER PATROL UNION ENDORSES CONTROVERSIAL SENATE BORDER DEAL: ‘FAR BETTER THAN THE STATUS QUO’

The resolution affirms that Mayorkas "has willfully and systematically refused to comply with Federal immigration laws" by having repeatedly violated laws enacted by Congress regarding immigration and border security during his tenure.

If the vote goes through, Mayorkas would be the first Cabinet official impeached in nearly 150 years.

The impeachment articles charge that Mayorkas "refused to comply with Federal immigration laws" amid a record surge of migrants at the southern border and that he has "breached the public trust" in his claims to Congress that the U.S.-Mexico border is secure.

The secretary and supporters have repeatedly said that what's happening is part of a worldwide phenomenon of people on the move seeking a better way of life and that the U.S. immigration system needs more resources and legislation to meet the challenge.

The secretary has called the Republican charges against him "politically motivated and completely baseless," pointing to constitutional scholars who have weighed in with similar assessments. He said if it comes to a trial in the Senate, which generally follows an impeachment vote, he's prepared to defend himself.

New York Republican calls on Hochul, Adams to denounce Biden’s border policy amid migrant crisis in Big Apple

Posted on February 1, 2024 by Latest Political News on Fox News

FIRST ON FOX: Amid the migrant crisis in the Big Apple, one New York House Republican is calling for state and local leaders in the Empire State to strongly denounce the Biden administration's immigration policies as conditions at the southern border continue to deteriorate.

New York GOP Rep. Mike Lawler, whose district has been forced to deal with the massive influx of migrants in New York City, told Fox News Digital that now is the time for New York City Mayor Eric Adams and New York Democratic Gov. Kathy Hochul to speak out against President Biden's blatant disregard for stronger border security measures.

Lawler, who represents New York's 17th Congressional District, said the ongoing situation in New York City is a result of policies offered or supported by both Adams and Hochul.

"Both of them need to be voicing support for the fact that we need to enforce our laws," he said. "We need to secure our border. We need to stop this massive influx of illegal immigration. They are bearing the consequences of their policy decisions, but also that of President Biden and his administration's failure to enforce the law."

TEXAS GOV. ABBOTT CLAIMS BIDEN IS IN VIOLATION OF FEDERAL LAW AS BORDER SURGE CONTINUES

"It's costing the state and the city billions of dollars every year to deal with this migrant crisis," he added. "So, it's illogical not to demand action at the root cause of it, which is our porous southern border."

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott began bussing migrants to New York City and other sanctuary jurisdictions last year. Abbott’s office has said it has sent around 27,000 migrants to New York City and has done so to relieve pressure on besieged border communities.

A handful of migrants expressed to one local outlet this month that they are aggravated with their taxpayer-funded living arrangements in the Big Apple, insisting that their living situation at the time differed immensely from that which they were allegedly promised.

"They told me that we would have a decent place to live. They told me I'd have support finding work. They told me I'd have support with my children. Those were lies," Yenifer Vargas, the mother of three, told ABC 7.

While it is unclear who allegedly promised support for Vargas, the mother of three said the shelter she and her family had been living in — the so-called "tent city" at Brooklyn’s Floyd Bennett Field — was not a "decent place" for her children.

Like Vargas, Ayimar Araque told the outlet she also has struggled to apply for work authorization and complete certain casework because she cannot reach anyone by phone.

"I'm given a phone number that I'm supposed to call, but I get an answering machine," she said at the time.

Asked about those comments, Lawler said he believes the "crisis of their own making" has been "handled horribly by the state and the city."

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

Pointing to the city's decision to move migrants from that shelter to a nearby high school and force the students there into remote learning, as well as the costs of health care, food and education, Lawler said the city has "mismanaged" the crisis.

"It stems from their failed policies. Change your policies. Stop this sanctuary city nonsense. Start cooperating with ICE. Stop this interpretation of the right to shelter to mean that illegal immigrants are entitled to housing at taxpayer expense," said Lawler, a member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee.

"They need to stand up to the president and not demand more money, not demand work authorizations," he added. "They need to demand the president secure the border."

Echoing the sentiments shared by Lawler, House GOP Conference Chair Elise Stefanik, who represents New York's 21st Congressional District, told Fox News Digital Hochul and other Democrats in the state have seemingly welcomed the migrants to the state through their support for certain policies.

"Kathy Hochul and radical New York Democrats have incentivized the raging illegal and border crisis plaguing New York," she said. "Illegal immigrants continue to arrive in New York state in record numbers, attracted by far left Albany Democrats' failed open border and sanctuary state policies, overwhelming resources and costing New York taxpayers an additional $2.4 billion in 2025.

"Enough is enough," she added.

Abbott claimed Monday that President Biden is in violation of federal law because he refuses to enforce immigration statutes already on the books, adding that Biden is giving "mass parole" to foreign nationals who illegally enter the United States.

Abbott told "Hannity" Monday evening both members of the Border Patrol and the Border Patrol Council, its union apparatus, have told Texas officials they side with them when it comes to the controversy over the construction of razor wire at a state-owned park along the border at Eagle Pass.

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"They want to have nothing to do with regard to tearing down that razor wire or tearing down the barriers that Texas has erected for one simple reason. And that's because they are working," Abbott said.

"Border patrol says that what Texas has done to secure the border actually makes their job even easier. The only resistance we're facing is coming from Joe Biden."

Fox News' Charles Creitz contributed to this report.

Ohio Senate candidate says GOP impeaching ‘traitor’ Mayorkas a ‘no brainer’: ‘Grotesquely unqualified’

Posted on February 1, 2024 by Latest Political News on Fox News

Ohio Republican Senate candidate Bernie Moreno told Fox News Digital this week that Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas should "absolutely" be impeached as House Republicans continue to move toward a floor vote on that very issue.

"Absolutely, the reality is he should have never been appointed. He is grotesquely unqualified for the job and the reality is he's been a traitor," Moreno told Fox News Digital as Republicans were marking up articles of impeachment against Mayorkas who they say has "repeatedly violated laws enacted by Congress regarding immigration and border security."

"He's not followed the laws of the land," Moreno continued. "He's allowed people to come in here, he's put this country in jeopardy. We have no idea how many, hardened criminals and terrorists have come into our country. We have a number of what they've identified as being on a terror watch list, but as you know, there's hundreds of thousands, if not millions who have been classified as ‘gotaways,’ people who we have no idea who they are."

"So absolutely, Mayorkas should be impeached. I called for that over a year ago. It’s a no brainer. This guy's grotesquely unqualified for his job."

TRUMP ALLY MORENO PICKS UP NOEM ENDORSEMENT, RISES TO TOP OHIO REPUBLICAN VYING TO BOOT DEMOCRAT SHERROD BROWN

The push to impeach Mayorkas for his role in failing to stem the flow of record illegal immigration into the United States during Biden’s tenure is expected to come to a full House vote in a matter of days. If the vote goes through, the case will head to the Senate for a trial.

Mayorkas has strongly denied the legitimacy of an impeachment effort calling it "baseless" and "false."

TRUMP CALLS ON 'ENTIRE REPUBLICAN PARTY TO UNITE' AROUND BERNIE MORENO IN RACE FOR SEN. SHERROD BROWN'S SEAT

Moreno, who is running in the GOP primary to compete with Democratic Sen. Sherrod Brown in November, also told Fox News Digital that he does not support the framework of the current immigration bill being talked about in the Senate as a compromise between Republicans and Democrats and that no deal is "absolutely" better than a bad deal.

"5000 people a day is over 1 million illegals, 8500, which is what they're saying what it would take to cut it off, is almost 3 million illegals a year," Moreno explained.

"That's an insane amount of people that are crossing into our country illegally, if they all wore the same shirt, we'd call that what it is, which is an invasion. We have to have it crystal clear to the rest of the world, there's one way to come to America, the legal way, and we have to have a zero-tolerance policy for any illegal immigration and we actually have to reform our asylum laws to make certain that you can only cross into this country legally and if you cross illegally through a non designated port of entry, then you're immediately returned and you forfeit your right for asylum."

Moreno added, "I think one of the important elements that's not been shared with the American public is Joe Biden has the ability to secure the border today with existing laws. Certainly, we have to reform asylum the way I just laid out but he has the ability to put an end to this illegal invasion of our country. He's choosing not to do so, and Republicans should not be giving him the air cover during a presidential election year in which he can pretend that he's actually doing something about a problem that he's actually caused."

Fox News Digital’s Adam Shaw contributed to this report