Rep. Tony Gonzales (R-Texas) was noncommittal on how he plans to vote in possible impeachment proceedings against Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, saying on Sunday that he will “see where the hearings take us.”
“If the hearings take us down that line [of voting for his impeachment], then hearings take us down that line,” Gonzales said on "Fox News Sunday."
“But I’m waiting to see all the facts come out,” he added.
Mayorkas has consistently been the target of Republican scrutiny over his handling of immigration at the southern border.
Texas Rep. Pat Fallon (R) filed articles of impeachment against Mayorkas in the House last week, after conservatives frequently promised such a move on the campaign trail leading up to the 2022 midterms.
But after the fast-tracked filing of impeachment papers against the DHS secretary, some GOP House members are divided over how to handle the proceedings. Some Republicans think the pace of the impeachment process needs to be slowed to allow the gathering of information and evidence.
“We need to have hearings on this and we need to gather evidence and facts and, look, do I think the guy has done a terrible job? Yes,“ Rep. Michael McCaul (R-Texas), who chairs the House Foreign Affairs Committee, told The Hill last week. “Do I think he’s been derelict in his responsibilities? Yes. But we need to get all this together, and do it in a methodical way.”
Particularly in border states, Mayorkas has been the face of what Republican lawmakers have characterized as the Biden administration’s failures at the southern border. The GOP floated the ability to conduct oversight of the administration as a main peg for why they deserved to retake control of the House.
A majority vote in the House would be required for Mayorkas to be impeached. A two-thirds vote of the Senate would be needed for conviction — essentially a non-starter as Democrats hold a slim majority in the chamber.
Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) said on Thursday that he would consider expunging one or both of former President Trump’s impeachments.
“I would understand why members would want to bring that forward,” McCarthy said in response to a question at a press conference on Thursday, before listing off several other key priorities for House Republicans.
“But I understand why individuals want to do it, and we’d look at it,” he added.
In the last Congress, a group of more than 30 House Republicans led by Rep. Markwayne Mullin (Okla.) put forward a resolution to expunge Trump’s impeachment in the wake of the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol. The resolution was supported by the fourth-ranking Republican in the House, Republican Conference Chairwoman Elise Stefanik (N.Y.).
A smaller group, again led by Mullin, also introduced a resolution to expunge Trump’s December 2019 impeachment for allegedly attempting to withhold military aid from Ukraine in an effort to pressure the country to investigate the business dealings of President Biden’s son Hunter Biden.
The Senate ultimately acquitted Trump in both impeachments, after failing to reach the two-thirds majority required to convict him.
Tensions are rising in the GOP House over how to tackle a topic many back enthusiastically: impeaching Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas.
Republicans are largely unified in opposition to the secretary, but while some want to go full bore right away, others see fast-track impeachment as a mistake, warning that it's important to build their case before the public.
“We made the argument that impeachment was rushed — the second impeachment — and I think that's not who we are as a party,” said Rep. Michael McCaul (R-Texas), a former prosecutor, in reference to the second impeachment of former President Trump.
McCaul said it's the committees of jurisdiction that should be leading the inquiry.
“We need to have hearings on this and we need to gather evidence and facts and, look, do I think the guy has done a terrible job? Yes,“ McCaul said. “Do I think he's been derelict in his responsibilities? Yes. But we need to get all this together, and do it in a methodical way.”
In some corners, Republicans are lining up at the chance to impeach Mayorkas.
After Rep. Pat Fallon (R-Texas) filed articles of impeachment against the secretary this week, Rep. Andy Biggs (R-Ariz.) quickly pledged his own resolution while suggesting he was the one who had actually taken the impeachment action first.
“I was the first Member of Congress to introduce impeachment articles against DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas in 2021,” Biggs wrote on Twitter. “I will reintroduce these articles with even more justification very soon.”
Balancing the different interests will be another challenge for Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.), who has signaled he supports a deliberate approach.
“House Republicans will investigate every order, every action. And every failure will determine whether we can begin impeachment inquiry,” he said in November, during a trip to the border.
Twenty lawmakers have signed on to Fallon’s resolution. While he said he doesn't want to preclude any investigation, Fallon wants to prompt his colleagues to start them immediately.
“I think it's of vital import to get the ball rolling immediately. Because this is an emergency. This is break glass. This is something that we can't just sit around any longer and say, ‘Well, we'll do it in a month, we'll take it up in four months.’ Let's take it up right now,” he told The Hill.
Building a case for Mayorkas’s impeachment may not be as easy as some of his critics think.
For example, Fallon argues that Mayorkas lied to Congress in two different appearances, when saying both that the Biden administration has maintained operational control of the border and that the border is secure.
Both points are largely a matter of opinion; impeachment statutes are typically reserved for “high crimes and misdemeanors.”
“Impeachment is a very serious topic, and it's one where the facts need to lead you to the results, not have a predetermined decision,” said Rep. Tony Gonzales (R), who represents the Texas district with the longest shared border with Mexico.
Homeland Security officials, so far, have not assigned staff to deal with potential impeachment inquiries.
“Secretary Mayorkas is proud to advance the noble mission of this Department, support its extraordinary workforce, and serve the American people. The Department will continue our work to enforce our laws and secure our border, while building a safe, orderly, and humane immigration system," said Marsha Espinosa, a spokesperson for DHS.
“Members of Congress can do better than point the finger at someone else; they should come to the table and work on solutions for our broken system and outdated laws, which they have not updated in over 40 years,” she added.
Ultimately, Republicans who support impeachment and those who oppose it will have to make their case to McCarthy and his leadership team, who will weigh the costs and benefits of spending political capital on a historic measure with scant chances in the Senate.
Impeaching Mayorkas in the House would require a majority vote. In the Senate, a two-thirds majority would be necessary to win a conviction — a high bar.
Only one Cabinet member has been impeached in history — former President Grant’s secretary of war, William Belknap, who was accused of taking kickbacks from a contractor he appointed to run the trader post in Fort Sill, Okla. Belknap resigned before facing an almost-certain Senate conviction, a fate that's unlikely to play out with Mayorkas.
Other Republicans who spoke with The Hill stressed the need to go through the proper oversight channels, rather than leap into impeachment.
House Homeland Security Committee Chairman Mark Green (R-Tenn.), whose panel would be among those with jurisdiction over Mayorkas’s impeachment, was animated when he spoke about the opportunity to remove the DHS chief, pushing their own coming investigation.
“We're going to hold him accountable. That's what we're going to do. We're going to have hearings and dig into what I would say is dereliction of duty,” he said.
“All I can speak about is what we're going to do in the committee and that is a five-phased approach of tackling the fight.”
Rep. Chip Roy (R-Texas) said the GOP needed to handle the matter in “the appropriate way.”
“I've been very public about my belief that he has violated his oath, that he has undermined our ability to defend our country,” he said.
“But I'm on the House Judiciary Committee in the majority now and so I'm going to talk to [Chair] Jim [Jordan] (R-Ohio) and talk to people on that committee to make sure that we're going through this and looking at it in the appropriate way.”
Rep. Dan Crenshaw (R-Texas), who was initially by McCarthy’s side for the November border trip as he stressed an eventual inquiry, has signed onto Fallon’s resolution as a co-sponsor, saying he believes Cabinet secretaries can be impeached over their policies.
“People argue about this legally, you can impeach a president because you just don't like his policies. In theory that could be considered a high crime or misdemeanor according to the current legal analysis,” he said.
“I just decided I agree with Fallon. That's basically as simple as I can put it.”
Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) on Thursday amplified his pledge to keep a pair of high-profile Democrats — Reps. Adam Schiff (Calif.) and Eric Swalwell (Calif.) — from joining the powerful House Intelligence Committee in the new Congress.
Both Schiff and Swalwell played an outsized role in the impeachments of former President Trump, becoming toxic figures among Republicans in the process.
McCarthy has vowed for months to remove them from the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, known as HPSCI, in the wake of the Democrats’ move to strip two Republicans — Reps. Marjorie Taylor Green (Ga.) and Paul Gosar (Ariz.) — of their committee assignments in the last Congress.
On Thursday, McCarthy said he’s not backing down.
“What I am doing with the Intel Committee [is] bringing it back to the jurisdiction it's supposed to do. Forward-looking to keep this country safe, keep the politics out of it,” McCarthy told reporters in the Capitol.
“So yes, I'm doing exactly what we're supposed to do," he added.
The reasons Republicans are targeting Schiff and Swalwell are unique to each lawmaker.
For Schiff, the former chairman of the Intelligence Committee, McCarthy has focused on his role in the investigation into Trump’s ties to Russia, accusing Schiff of lying to the public about the depth of that affiliation.
He’s also accused Schiff, who was the lead manager in Trump’s first impeachment, of exaggerating the central assertion of that case, which charged Trump with leveraging U.S. military aid to pressure Ukrainian leaders to investigate his political adversaries.
“He put America — for four years — through an impeachment that he knew was a lie,” McCarthy said Thursday.
In Swalwell’s case, Republicans have highlighted his ties to a suspected Chinese spy who had helped fundraise for Swalwell’s 2014 reelection campaign — an episode that became public only in 2020, when Axios reported it.
“If you got the briefing I got from the FBI, you wouldn't have Swalwell on any committee,” McCarthy said.
Swalwell, who had cut ties with the Chinese national when informed of her identity by the FBI, said this week that McCarthy’s decision to remove him from HPSCI was “purely vengeance” for Swalwell’s role as a manager in Trump’s second impeachment, which followed the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol.
“I did what I hope every one of my colleagues would do, which was to help the FBI get this person out of the country,” Swalwell said Wednesday in an interview with MSNBC's Chris Hayes. “This is only about vengeance, and there's no substantive reason to remove us.”
Separately, McCarthy is also vowing to remove Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.), one of three Muslim lawmakers in Congress, from her spot on the Foreign Affairs Committee. Omar has been highly critical of the Israeli government and its supporters, particularly on issues related to Palestinian rights, leading to charges of antisemitism. In one 2019 episode, Omar was forced to apologize after suggesting wealthy Jews are buying congressional support for Israel.
McCarthy did not mention Omar on Thursday, but told the GOP conference earlier in the week that he would follow through on his pledge to block all three Democrats — Omar, Schiff and Swalwell — from their top committees, according to lawmakers in the meeting.
“Speaker McCarthy confirms that Adam Schiff, Eric Swalwell, and Ilhan Omar are getting kicked off the Intel and Foreign Affairs Committees,” Rep. Troy Nehls, a Texas Republican, tweeted on Tuesday after the closed-door gathering.
“Promises made. Promises kept!” he added.
The process for removing a lawmaker from a standing committee like Foreign Affairs is different than for kicking representatives off the HPSCI, which is a select committee.
McCarthy, as House Speaker, has the power to reject Schiff and Swalwell unilaterally. By contrast, Republicans would have to bring a resolution removing Omar to the House floor, as Democrats did with Greene and Gosar in 2021.
As the parties clash over the legitimacy of stripping committees from the three targeted Democrats, it’s unclear if McCarthy will even be confronted with that option in the case of Schiff and Swalwell. That’s because Rep. Hakeem Jeffries (N.Y.), the new Democratic leader, has not yet indicated whether he will seat those two on the Intelligence panel in the new Congress.
HPSCI has term limits on its members, and Swalwell is at the end of the four-cycle cap, leading to questions of whether Jeffries would supply a waiver to try to keep him aboard. Schiff, as the top Democrat on the panel, is exempt from those limits.
Jeffries has begun the process of naming Democrats to the various committees, including the Ethics panel, which revealed its roster on Tuesday. But he has not revealed the Democrats he’s putting forward for the Intelligence panel.
Jeffries’s office did not respond on Thursday to a request for comment.
Meanwhile, other members of the Intelligence Committee are itching to get seated — and secure their security clearances — so they can get to work in the new Congress.
Rep. Jim Himes (D-Conn.), who is seeking to replace Schiff as Intel’s top Democrat if Schiff falls off the committee, said Thursday that members of the panel are eager to regain access to their classified briefings, not least because of the recent news that President Biden was found to be in private possession of confidential documents.
“It's a sensitive moment not to have, you know — you can't get briefed on whatever the Biden classified documents are, [and] from a party standpoint, you don't have a very clear spokesman on the issue,” Himes said. “So I'm hoping it's soon."
Republican leaders in the House unveiled their picks for who will head committees in the chamber, handing out key assignments that will control important legislative vessels over the next two years.
Democrats also named lawmakers who will serve as ranking members of the committees. Here is the landscape of the 118th Congress.
House Committee on Agriculture Chair: Rep. Glenn Thompson (R-Pa.)
Rep. Glenn Thompson (R-Pa.) (AP Photo)
Ranking Member: Rep. David Scott (D-Ga.) who previously served as chair.
The Agriculture Committee has jurisdiction over federal agricultural policies and retains oversight duty of a number of federal agencies, including the Department of Agriculture. Thompson, who has been in office since 2009, previously served as the ranking member on the committee in the last Congress.
House Committee on Appropriations Chair: Rep. Kay Granger (R-Texas)
Rep. Kay Granger (R-Texas) (AP Photo)
Ranking Member: Rep. Rosa DeLauro (D-Conn.)
One of the most powerful panels in Congress, the Appropriations Committee allocates federal funds to government agencies and regulated federal expenditures. Longtime lawmaker Granger, who has been in the House since 1997, was the first Republican woman to sit on the Appropriations Subcommittee on Defense Appropriations. She is a fiscal conservative who was previously the committee’s ranking member.
House Armed Services Committee Chair: Rep. Mike Rogers (R-Ala.)
Rep. Mike Rogers (R-Ala.) (Greg Nash)
Ranking Member: Rep. Adam Smith (D-Wash.)
The Armed Services Committee oversees and funds the Department of Defense and U.S. Armed Forces. It is annually responsible for the National Defense Authorization Act, which lays out the budget for Defense. Rogers made news last week for supposedly lunging at Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) during a rift over the Speaker's vote. The incident was captured by CSPAN cameras.
House Budget Committee Chair: Rep. Jodey Arrington (R-Texas)
Rep. Jodey Arrington (R-Texas) (Greg Nash Photo)
Ranking Member: Rep. Brendan Boyle (D-Pa.)
The Budget Committee has oversight over the federal budget process. Its most important act each year is the drafting of the budget resolution that sets the level of revenue and spending that is expected in a fiscal year. Arrington has made clear his wishes to address the national debt during his Congressional tenure. Republicans reached a deal during the Speaker election to set government discretionary spending levels for fiscal year 2024 to 2022 levels.
House Committee on Education and the Workforce Chair: Rep. Virginia Foxx (R-N.C.)
Rep. Virginia Foxx (R-N.C.) (Greg Nash Photo)
Ranking Member: Rep. Bobby Scott (R-Va.)
The Education and the Workforce Committee (formerly the Education and Labor Committee before a Republican rebrand this year) oversees federal education and workforce programs in the U.S. Foxx has already served as chair of the committee for three terms, but was granted a waiver by Republican leadership to lead it again. House GOP rules allow members to serve only three consecutive terms as the head of a panel.
House Committee on Energy and Commerce Chair: Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-Wash.)
The Energy and Commerce Committee has oversight of a broad swath of issues, including telecommunications, consumer protection, food and drug safety, public health, energy supply and delivery and foreign and domestic commerce. McMorris Rodgers, who has been in Congress since 2005, is the former chair of the House Republican Conference. McMorris Rodgers has long been a proponent of domestic energy production.
House Financial Services Committee Chair: Rep. Patrick McHenry (R-N.C.)
Rep. Patrick McHenry (R-N.C.) (Greg Nash Photo)
Ranking Member: Rep. Maxine Water (D-Calif.)
The Financial Services Committee is tasked with the oversight of the financial services industry, including the Federal Reserve, the Department of Treasury and the Securities and Exchange Commission. McHenry was the committee’s ranking member in the last Congress and supported a Trump-era policy that stated payday lenders would not have to check whether borrowers could afford to repay high-interest loans.
House Committee on Foreign Affairs Chair: Rep. Michael McCaul (R-Texas)
Rep. Michael McCaul (R-Texas) (Greg Nash Photo)
Ranking Member: Rep. Gregory Meeks (D-N.Y.)
The Foreign Affairs Committee has broad jurisdiction to oversee legislation and investigations that concern U.S. foreign policy. It also oversees the Department of State. McCaul has been a strong proponent of American support to Ukraine during its war with Russia. He was previously the ranking member on the committee.
House Committee on Homeland Security Chair: Rep. Mark Green (R-Tenn.)
Rep. Mark Green (R-Tenn.) (AP Photo)
Ranking Member: Rep. Bennie Thompson (D-Miss.)
The Homeland Security Committee has jurisdiction over legislation related to the security of the U.S. and oversees the Department of Homeland Security. The committee is slated to play an aggressive role in addressing the migration surge at the southern border, and there are plans to bring Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas in to testify. Mayorkas has already had articles of impeachment filed against him in the 118th Congress. Green is a member of the House Freedom Caucus, a group of hardline conservatives.
House Committee on the Judiciary Chair: Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio)
Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) (Greg Nash Photo)
Ranking Member: Rep. Jerry Nadler (R-N.Y.)
The Judiciary Committee oversees federal courts and issues of justice within federal agencies and law enforcement. Jordan is also a Freedom Caucus and is a fiery conservative who has made headlines in his questioning of witnesses on various Congressional committees. He is a close ally and supporter of former President Trump.
House Committee on Natural Resources Chair: Rep. Bruce Westerman (R-Ark.)
Rep. Bruce Westerman (R-Ark.) (Greg Nash Photo)
Ranking Member: Rep. Raul Grijalva (D-Ariz.)
The Natural Resources Committee considers legislation related to energy production, mining, fisheries, wildlife, public lands and Native Americans. Wetserman, in Congress since 2015, holds a master’s degree in forestry from Yale.
House Committee on Oversight and Accountability Chair: Rep. James Comer (R-Ky.)
Rep. James Comer (R-Ky.) (Greg Nash Photo)
Ranking Member: Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.)
The Oversight and Accountability Committee is the main investigative body in the House. As chair, Comer will be able to unilaterally issue subpoenas. Republicans have promised aggressive oversight of the Biden administration, inducing federal agencies.
House Committee on Science, Space and Technology Chair: Rep. Frank Lucas (R-Ok.)
Rep. Frank Lucas (R-Ok.) (Anna Rose Layden Photo)
Ranking Member: Rep. Zoe Lofgren (D-Calif.)
The Science, Space and Technology Committee has jurisdiction over federal scientific research and development that does not include defense. It includes oversight of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. Lucas was previously the ranking member of the committee. He has said he wants to fortify American leadership in space exploration and turning back threats from China.
House Committee on Small Business Chair: Rep. Roger Williams (R-Texas)
Rep. Roger Williams (R-Texas) (AP Photo)
Ranking Member: Rep. Nydia Velazquez (D-N.Y.)
The Small Business Committee oversees the Small Business Administration and its programs and provides assistance to small businesses. Williams, who has been in Congress since 2013, was a car dealer before moving to politics.
House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Chair: Rep. Sam Graves (R-Mo.)
Rep. Sam Graves (R-Mo.) (Greg Nash Photo)
Ranking Member: Rep. Rick Larsen (D-Wa.)
The Transportation and Infrastructure Committee has jurisdiction over all modes of transportation in the U.S., including roads, highways, dams, skies and railroads. Graves is a pilot and is known as a strong proponent of private pilots.
House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs Chair: Rep. Mike Bost (R-Ill.)
Rep. Mike Bost (R-Ill.) (Greg Nash Photo)
Ranking Member: Rep. Mark Takano (D-Calif.)
The Veterans’ Affairs Committee oversees the Department of Veterans Affairs and reviews legislation concerning military veterans. Bost is a Marine veteran and a former firefighter. He was previously the ranking member of the committee and has said he wants to ensure that veterans get access to the care and services they need in a timely manner.
House Committee on Ways and Means Chair: Rep. Jason Smith (R-Mo.)
Rep. Jason Smith (R-Mo.) (Julia Nikhinson Photo)
Ranking Member: Rep. Richard Neal (D-Mass.)
The Ways and Means Committee is one of the most powerful in Congress, as it is the chief tax-writing panel. It has jurisdiction over all taxation matters and programs such as Social Security and Medicare. Smith is a close ally of Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) and had a role in writing the Trump-era overhaul of the federal tax code.
House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence Chair: Rep. Mike Turner (R-Ohio)
Rep. Mike Turner (R-Ohio) (Greg Nash Photo)
Ranking Member: Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.)
The Intelligence Committee is a permanent select committee that is charged with oversight of the U.S. intelligence community, including the Central Intelligence Agency. Turned is expected to be the next chair of the committee. He was involved in the 2019 investigation that looked into whether former President Trump improperly withheld aid to Ukraine.
A Texas Republican has filed articles of impeachment against Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, wasting little time in the new Congress to act on a GOP priority leadership has said would come after thorough investigation.
Rep. Pat Fallon (R-Texas) filed the paperwork for the resolution on Jan. 3, the first day of the 118th Congress, though with delays in securing a House Speaker, the document was officially filed late Monday.
The resolution claims Mayorkas “engaged in a pattern of conduct that is incompatible with his duties,” complaining that he has failed to maintain operational control over the border.
The resolution comes amid a busy week in the Biden administration. President Biden visited the border over the weekend for the first time since taking office, pledging to deliver more resources to the officers who patrol the region.
And Mayorkas is in Mexico this week, meeting with officials there on a variety of issues, including the shared migration agreement rolled out by the Biden administration last week.
Mayorkas is also due to discuss coordination on transnational crime with Mexican authorities.
Fallon’s resolution won’t move without further action from GOP leadership, but it would otherwise jump-start a process House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) has treaded carefully on.
“House Republicans will investigate every order, every action and every failure will determine whether we can begin impeachment inquiry,” McCarthy said at a press conference in El Paso, Texas, in November.
Still, impeachment charges against Mayorkas were all but certain under Republican control of the House, as the DHS secretary has been a constant foil for the party during the Biden administration.
Republicans claim that under Biden, the DHS has dismantled the border security apparatus built under former President Trump, leading to border chaos.
The primary basis for the articles of impeachment is the claim that Mayorkas lied to Congress — a case they back by pointing to two instances in which the secretary told lawmakers he believed the Southern border was under control.
“His willful actions erode our immigration system, undermine border patrol morale, and imperil American national security. He must be removed from office,” Fallon said in a release.
DHS said Tuesday that Mayorkas has no plans to resign and argued that the grounds for impeachment pointed to by the GOP were both inaccurate and failed to meet the standards to qualify as high crimes and misdemeanors.
“Secretary Mayorkas is proud to advance the noble mission of this Department, support its extraordinary workforce, and serve the American people. The Department will continue our work to enforce our laws and secure our border, while building a safe, orderly, and humane immigration system,” Assistant Secretary for Public Affairs Marsha Espinosa said in a statement.
“Members of Congress can do better than point the finger at someone else; they should come to the table and work on solutions for our broken system and outdated laws, which they have not updated in over 40 years.”
Most border and immigration analysts agree that increased migration due to security, economic and governance conditions in the Western Hemisphere is the primary reason for the high number of migrants encountered at the border.
Attorney General Merrick Garland, left, and Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas speak before a meeting with President Joe Biden and Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador at the National Palace in Mexico City, Mexico, Monday, Jan. 9, 2023. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik)
And Mayorkas has taken flak both from the right and the left, as the DHS has maintained many of the Trump administration's border policies, which immigrant advocates say violate human rights.
Still, Republicans see the border as a winning issue for them, and Mayorkas is the Biden administration's face on that issue.
Mayorkas, the first Latino to ever hold that post, has often butted heads with congressional Republicans at oversight hearings.
In April, Mayorkas clashed with Republicans on the House Judiciary Committee, including a notable exchange with Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) over the agency's record on deportations from the interior of the country.
That combative exchange could set the tone for impeachment proceedings.
The potential for a political circus is concerning for Republicans fresh off a nationally televised Speaker's race that highlighted divisions in the party.
Some Republicans have expressed reservations about going after Mayorkas without careful study.
“You’ve got to build a case. You need the facts, evidence before you indict,” Rep. Michael McCaul (R-Texas).
“Has he been derelict in his responsibilities? I think so,” he added.
Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) was elected Speaker of the House early Saturday morning, after weeks of haggling and a historic 15 roll call votes on the floor.
The lengthy Speakership fight — the first in a century to go past one ballot — played out largely in front of the public, as members repeatedly voted and sometimes negotiated on the floor of the House before C-SPAN’s cameras.
The battle for Speaker, particularly its culmination on Friday night and Saturday morning, produced a number of memorable moments. Here are five of the most dramatic and colorful:
Republicans rush back to Washington
Two Republican congressmen — Reps. Ken Buck (R-Colo.) and Wesley Hunt (R-Texas) — rushed back to the Capitol on Friday to vote for McCarthy.
Buck had said he would return for Friday evening votes after being gone during the day for a “non-emergency medical procedure” he had to undergo back in his home state.
But Hunt had to change his plans. He returned home to Texas Friday morning to spend time with his wife and newborn son, who was born prematurely on Monday and spent time in the neonatal intensive care unit.
“Willie needs his father and Emily needs her husband,” Hunt said in a tweet. “Today, I’ll be returning home to hold my son and be at my wife’s side. It’s my intention to get back into the fight as soon as possible.”
Both were McCarthy supporters and McCarthy's Speaker math meant he needed both of their votes to prevail.
Hunt flew back to Washington later Friday and was in the chamber in time to vote the first time his name was called, while Buck arrived in time to vote when they circled back to his name.
Both received a round of applause from their Republican colleagues.
Lawmaker physically restrained by colleague
Perhaps the more tense — and chaotic — moment of the night came after McCarthy lost his 14th Speakership vote, one Republicans were confident would be their last.
Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) was among the last lawmakers to vote and because only one of the other five holdout Republicans — Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-Colo.) — had changed their vote to "present," a "present" vote from Gaetz wouldn't be enough to put McCarthy over the finish. McCarthy needed an affirmative vote from the Florida Republican.
Gaetz voted "present."
With tensions rising, a heated argument broke out between Gaetz and several McCarthy backers and Rep. Mike Rogers (R-Ala.) appeared to take a step toward Gaetz before he was physically pulled back by Rep. Richard Hudson (R-N.C.), eliciting gasps in the chamber.
Greene gets Trump on the line
As chaos ensued between then 14th and 15th votes, Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) had President Trump on the phone in an effort to whip the final votes for McCarthy.
A widely-circulated photo from Friday night showed Greene holding up her phone to Rep. Matt Rosendale (R-Mont.), one the last six Republican holdouts. Rosendale appeared to refuse the phone call, whose caller ID read “DT.”
Greene later confirmed to The Hill that the phone call was in fact from Trump.
“It was the perfect phone call,” she added in a post on Twitter, a reference to Trump's comment about the phone call at the center of his first impeachment.
Trump also reportedly called other Republican holdouts on behalf of McCarthy and McCarthy credited Trump for helping him win the 15th ballot.
Republicans rush to stay in session after McCarthy apparently locks down votes
With Republicans seemingly at an impasse after a 14th failed vote, Rep. Patrick McHenry (R-N.C.) moved to adjourn the House until Monday.
The motion seemed to have enough GOP support to pass, but then McCarthy and other Republicans rushed to the dais to their change votes and stay in session.
McCarthy had seemingly locked down the votes he needed.
Several Republican lawmakers chanted “one more time” in anticipation of what would be the 15th and final ballot. With all six Republican holdouts changing their vote to "present," McCarthy was able to secure the Speakership with 216 votes just after midnight on Saturday.
Democrats troll their Republican colleagues
As Republican infighting continued throughout the week, Democrats watched with a level of amusement, frequently mocking their GOP counterparts.
Several Democratic members brought out buckets of popcorn amid the drawn-out process.
"We are breaking the popcorn out in the Dem Caucus till the Republicans get their act together," Rep. Ruben Gallego (D-Ariz.) said in a Twitter post on Tuesday, accompanied by a picture of large bucket of popcorn.
Rep. Katie Porter (D-Calif.) was seen during Friday's votes sitting and reading “The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F---” by Mark Manson.
After McCarthy clinched the Speakership on Saturday morning, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) also appeared to take a jab at the Republican conference, calling it an honor to “finally” welcome members to the 118th Congress.
The House of Representatives still does not have a speaker. The 20 or so Freedom Caucus members holding up the proceedings realize that they, like the Republican Party itself, don’t believe in majority rule. The fact that the Republican establishment has kowtowed to them for the past decade or more has only emboldened their position.
Of course, that doesn’t mean that the craven establishment leaders don’t want to remain in power—or at least seem to remain in power. On Friday, Florida man Rep. Matt Gaetz stood up to nominate—wait for it … wait for it—well, before he named his nominee for the speakership, Gaetz made a long speech attacking Kevin McCarthy, calling him the “LeBron James of special interest fundraising in this town.”
It’s Jim Jordan! Sorry, I couldn’t wait. He named the guy who stayed silent while young man after young man allegedly told him they were being sexual assaulted and abused by a wrestling team doctor. That Jim Jordan. However, at least half of the people on Gaetz’s side of the aisle were not simply unhappy about the nomination but clearly could not stand to sit through the more-than-five-minute cringeworthy speech Gaetz subjected everyone to—and they left!
After saying Jordan’s name, Gaetz decided to attack reports that his crew of freedomers were too obstinate to make any deal with the 200 or so McCarthy backers. “Let's start with purity. Many of you have seen the reports that there are negotiations to determine whether or not on this side of the aisle there can be a deal, a meeting of the minds, a grand bargain that would allow us to proceed with the speakership. And I want all of my colleagues to know, regardless of your perspective on me, how impure some of those negotiations have gone.”
“Impure!” Matt Gaetz! Somewhere just shy of the four-minute mark where Gaetz began airing out his point of view on the dirty laundry exchanges behind closed doors, Republican members of the House began standing up, looking at their phones and walking out of the chambers.
What a way to start the new year! On the first episode of season two of The Downballot, we're talking with Sara Garcia, the strategy and outreach manager at Crooked Media—home of Pod Save America—about everything her organization does to mobilize progressives and kick GOP ass. Sara tells us how Crooked arose to fill a void in the media landscape, how it not only informs listeners but also gives them tools to take action, and some of her favorite shows that she loves to recommend to folks.
Co-hosts David Nir and David Beard also discuss the Republican shitshow currently unfolding in Congress—and starkly different outcomes in two state legislatures that just elected new House speakers via bipartisan coalitions; the landslide win for the good guys in a special election primary in Virginia; why George Santos faces serious legal trouble that will very likely end with his resignation; and the massive pushback from progressive groups and labor unions against Kathy Hochul's conservative pick to be New York's top judge.
At least one Washington watering hole is capitalizing on the Speaker’s race drama in the House, offering a $218 special — one that comes complete with a gavel.
Union Pub, a bar just a few blocks from the Capitol, is advertising its new “Speaker of the Pub” special.
The $218 price tag is a nod to the 218 votes needed to win the post. On Thursday, Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) lost a ninth vote to become Speaker after failing to reach that threshold.
The pub’s politically infused promotion includes two buckets of Budweiser beer, eight shots of whiskey, a bottle of wine and another of “fancy champagne,” a platter of “totchos” — also known as tater tot nachos — and the so-called Speaker of the Pub gavel.
A Union Pub representative didn’t get back to ITK about the specifics of the Speaker-themed grub. But the establishment vowed to offer the pricey, boozy package until “a Speaker of the House is elected!”
It’s not the first time the Capitol Hill hot spot has played off its proximity to political players.
During the House’s 2019 impeachment inquiry into then-President Trump’s dealings with Ukraine, Union Pub was one of several D.C.-area eateries that opened its doors early to air the proceedings and offered drink specials. Some of the cocktails featured for the occasion included “Impeachment Please” and “I Got 99 Problems but Impeachment Ain’t One.”
House Clerk Cheryl Johnson has taken center stage amid the disarray of Republicans trying to choose the next Speaker, attempting to keep order in the Speakerless chamber.
Because the chamber can’t seat members without a new Speaker elected, Johnson, who has been House clerk since 2019, is presiding over the House, without her usual duties of delivering messages to the Senate and certifying the passage of bills.
However, the House also has not passed rules for this session, giving her few guidelines for enforcing order amid the chaos.
Johnson is a native of New Orleans and earned a law degree from Howard University after receiving an undergraduate degree in journalism and mass communication from the University of Iowa. She worked for the Smithsonian for a decade, as its director of government relations, before becoming House clerk.
Johnson, who is the fourth woman and second Black person to hold the role, has presided over six rounds of voting for House Speaker so far and has had to intervene in speeches from members on the floor to keep control of a chamber in the middle of inter- and intraparty battles.
Rep. Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.), who is the Democratic leader in the House and has had the most votes for Speaker in every round of voting, praised Johnson at a press conference on Thursday.
“I think Cheryl Johnson, who is a historic figure in her own right, is doing a very good job under difficult circumstances,” Jeffries said.
But the Speakership chaos is not the first turmoil that Johnson has seen in her short stint as House clerk. Since assuming the position in 2019, Johnson has witnessed two different impeachment proceedings and the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection at the Capitol.
The position of House clerk is elected every two years at the start of a new Congress. Each party nominates a clerk after a Speaker is elected.
