How the midterms could impact the Russia-Ukraine war

The midterm elections, which are largely being fought over inflation, crime and other domestic issues, could have a huge impact on America’s role in the Russia-Ukraine war. 

House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.), the likely Speaker in a GOP majority, has talked about how Ukraine would not get a “blank check” from the U.S. with Republicans in control of the House.  

GOP victories by pro-Trump candidates in the House and Senate could also amplify isolationist voices that have questioned the Biden administration’s steady spending in support of Ukraine.  

“I just see a freight train coming, and that is Trump and his operation turning against aid for Ukraine,” Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) told MSNBC last month, underscoring a widely-held concern among Democrats. He added that there could be “a real crisis where the House Republican majority would refuse to support additional aid to Ukraine.” 

Statements from GOP lawmakers such as Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (Ga.) have added to the anxiety. During a rally last week, she said a GOP majority would not spend “another penny” on Ukraine.  

To be sure, there are many voices within the GOP that have been highly supportive of Ukraine during the conflict with Russia, including Senate GOP Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.).  

Sen. James Risch (Idaho) and Rep. Michael McCaul (Texas), the top Republicans in the foreign affairs committees in each chamber, have been leading voices in support of arming Ukraine, often pushing for Biden to do more.   

Danielle Pletka, a senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute and a former Republican Senate foreign policy staff member, said a majority of Republicans want to back Ukraine against Russia’s aggression.  

“For me, it is about the great battle of the substantive versus the loud,” she said, placing figures like Greene in the latter category. “But these are not people who have any power at all in the House or the Senate.”

But it is also true that McCarthy’s comments reflect skepticism about U.S. economic and military support for Ukraine within his conference. 

And the first test of GOP resistance to additional Ukraine aid could come before the end of this session, with the Biden administration expected to push for another aid package during the lame-duck period before January.

Rep. Jim Banks (Ind.), chairman of the conservative Republican Study Committee, said McCarthy was “exactly right” with his no-blank-check comments.  

“Now Democrats are screaming and saying 'Well, McCarthy says that, we know he's gonna be Speaker of the House. We're gonna pass another $50 billion in the lame duck.' It’s just absurd. It’s insanity,” he told Fox News last month.  

That package is likely to pass with Democrats still in control of the House and Senate no matter the results of the midterms. But the level of GOP opposition could indicate how much of the caucus remains on board with strong support for Kyiv. And Banks’s remarks could find even more support if the U.S. economy tips into a recession in 2023.  

Ukraine is likely to be watching the results of the midterms with some anxiety, though Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov told the BBC last week that he was confident that both parties would keep up support for Kyiv after meetings with lawmakers.  

“I got a lot of signals that it doesn't matter who will steer … bipartisan support for Ukraine will be continued,” he said. “I believe in that.” 

Andres Kasekamp, a political science professor at the University of Toronto who studies the war, said the GOP is “exploiting” the narrative that America must choose between investing in the U.S. on one hand or helping Ukraine on the other. He accused some in the GOP of abandoning the idea that upholding a rules-based international order is in the U.S. interest.  

“That used to be something that was common sense and in the DNA of the Republican Party,” he said. “Now the sort of populists on the far right of the Republican Party have changed the narrative, and it’s dangerous.” 

So far, Americans remain largely united behind U.S. support for Ukraine, thought recent polls have shown a growing partisan divide. 

Reuters-Ipsos poll conducted in early October found that 81 percent of Democrats and 66 percent of Republicans agreed that the U.S. should continue to support Ukraine, despite nuclear warnings from Russia.  

Wall Street Journal poll this month found that 81 percent of Democrats support additional financial aid for Ukraine, compared to 35 percent of Republicans. And almost half of Republicans said the U.S. is doing too much, up from 6 percent at the start of the war.  

“It plays right into the hands of Putin,” Kasekamp said of skepticism toward Ukraine support. “The Russians from the beginning have tried to dissuade the West from helping the Ukrainians.” 

Former President Trump has said current U.S. policy risks World War III, advocating instead for the U.S. to pressure Ukraine to open peace talks with Russia.  

Last month, he found rare common cause with progressive Democrats in the House, who released and then retracted a letter calling on President Biden to ramp up diplomatic efforts to end the war.  

Tuesday’s election could bolster the ranks of Ukraine skeptics. J.D. Vance, the Trump-backed GOP Senate nominee in Ohio, said earlier this year that he didn’t care about Ukraine, and wanted Biden to focus on the U.S. border.  

Pletka, the former GOP staffer, said she worried that the far right and far left — for different reasons — will decide to capitulate to Putin and pressure Ukraine to take a peace deal.  

“I could absolutely see the appeasement wing of the Democratic Party having a meeting of minds, if you can call them that, with the fortress America-first wing of the Republican party and doing the wrong thing,” she said.  

Despite Ukraine projecting confidence in continued support from both parties, Suriya Evans-Pritchard Jayanti, a nonresident senior fellow at the Atlantic Council, said Kyiv has cause for concern.  

“Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy learned the hard way in 2019 how much domestic U.S. politics can affect Ukraine’s reality,” she wrote last week, referring to Trump’s first impeachment trial.  

“He and his team would be right to worry about next week’s polls. Whether or not the GOP will follow through on its threats to scale back Ukraine aid is impossible to predict, but it is definitely a real possibility,” she added. 

GOP Leader McCarthy Again Gets Squishy When Asked About Impeaching Biden

As Republican voters head to the polls with the intention of electing people they believe will hold Democrats accountable for the last two years, celebration might be a bit premature.

Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-CA), likely the next Speaker of the House, is doing his best to let the air out of that balloon.

Recently, McCarthy sat down with CNN’s Melanie Zanona, who asked the GOP leader, “…Investigations a huge priority, I know you’ve said not going to predetermine outcome, but is impeachment on the table?” 

While understandably wanting to keep his cards close to the vest, McCarthy dodged the question like he was in The Matrix:

“You know what’s on the table? Accountability. Shouldn’t we know where the origins of COVID actually started? They didn’t have one hearing. Shouldn’t we know what happened in the last 60 days of Afghanistan, so we wouldn’t repeat that again, so we wouldn’t have 13 new Goldstar families, that should have never happened? Shouldn’t we know why the DOJ would take it upon themselves to go after parents that would go to school board meetings?”

RELATED: GOP Chairwoman: If Republicans Win Control Of Congress They’ll Work With Biden 

Follow Up And Squishy Response

McCarthy continued, saying, “Shouldn’t we know where the taxpayers’ money is being spent? I call that accountability. That’s a responsibility for congress regardless of whose ever party is in the White House.”

To Zanona’s credit, she didn’t let McCarthy off the hook just yet. She followed up with, “Some of your members already calling for impeachment. What do you say to those members?”

McCarthy dodged again:

“One thing I’ve known about the land of America, it’s the rule of law. And we will hold the rule of law and we won’t play politics with this. We’ll never use impeachment for political purposes. That doesn’t mean if something rises to the occasion it would not be used. At any other time, it wouldn’t matter if it’s Democrats or Republicans. But the idea of what Democrats have done, what Adam Schiff has done, is treacherous… We’re better than that. We need to get our nation back on track. That’s what the Commitment to America does.”

RELATED: Elon Musk Endorses A Red Wave, Urges Independents To Vote Republican

Is This An Early Sign Of A GOP Cave-In?

Kevin McCarthy was not the only Republican who appeared to be getting wobbly in the knees. Over the weekend, Republican National Committee Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel was interviewed by CNN’s Dana Bash. 

McDaniel is under the mistaken idea that Joe Biden is equivalent to Bill Clinton in 1994, and that Biden will view the election outcome as a sign that they want him to work with the GOP.

She stated, “If we win back the House and the Senate, it’s the American people saying to Joe Biden, ‘We want you to work on behalf of us and we want you to work across the aisle and solve the problems that we are dealing with.'” 

McDaniel must not spend a lot of time talking with Republicans. They want their leaders to oppose Biden and his agenda. Not “work with him.”

While Kevin McCarthy may not want to appear as if he is embracing the idea of impeachment, there could be a lot of pressure on him to pull the impeachment trigger.

Joe Kent is an America First Republican running for Congress in Washington state. He essentially laid out the case for Biden impeachment that could be tempting for Republicans, and their constituents.

“I say if you’re the Commander-in-Chief and you invite an invasion on our southern border, if you’re the Commander-in-Chief and you leave Americans on the battlefield in Afghanistan to fall into the hands of the Taliban, what are we supposed to do with you?” 

It’s a fair point. 

Newsflash to Republicans. If the American people give you the keys to the House, it is not because they want you to be nice.

Now is the time to support and share the sources you trust.
The Political Insider ranks #3 on Feedspot’s “100 Best Political Blogs and Websites.”

The post GOP Leader McCarthy Again Gets Squishy When Asked About Impeaching Biden appeared first on The Political Insider.

GOP Chairwoman: If Republicans Win Control of Congress They’ll Work With Biden

Ronna McDaniel, Chair of the Republican National Committee (RNC) and niece of Senator Mitt Romney, declared that Republicans will reach across the aisle and work with President Biden should they win control of Congress following the midterms.

Her comments came during an interview with Dana Bash on CNN’s “State of the Union” over the weekend.

McDaniel initially called for a new era of bipartisanship which would focus on the President having to accept the election results as a mandate to work with Republicans.

“If we win back the House and the Senate, it’s the American people saying to Joe Biden, ‘We want you to work on behalf of us and we want you to work across the aisle and solve the problems that we are dealing with,'” she said.

McDaniel pointed to Bill Clinton who famously turned his fortunes around after a Republican election sweep in 1994 by embracing fiscal responsibility and moving further to the center in governing.

RELATED: GOP Leader Kevin McCarthy Pre-Surrenders, Saying GOP Won’t Impeach Biden

Ronna McDaniel: GOP Will Work With Biden

Bash pointed out that bipartisanship cuts in both directions and would require Republicans to be open to working with Biden as well.

“Would Republicans be willing to do the same and not just be a roadblock for him?” she asked.

“We have to,” McDaniel replied. “We have to work on behalf of the American people.”

Going back to McDaniel’s claim that a red wave is an indication that Biden must work with Republicans, simply saying that the reverse is also true is a fundamental misunderstanding of the mandate American voters will be giving the GOP.

They want you to be that roadblock.

Voters aren’t turning to Republican candidates in droves because they want them to work with President Biden. If that were the case they’d just vote for Democrats.

The mandate is to shut him down. To keep him and his party and his ideology from destroying the country any more than he already has.

What would you have them compromise on? Open borders? Illegal immigrants voting in our elections? Abortion without limitations? Economic ruin? Biological males competing in women’s sports? Drag queen story hours for kids? Decimated retirement savings plans?

Which of those do you want to reach across the aisle on, Ms. McDaniel?

Because Election Day is likely to show voters don’t want to compromise on any of it. President Biden is already the worst president in the history of this country. There is no compromise with this man and his radical party.

RELATED: Matt Gaetz Warns There Are Republican Squishes Already Trying to Shut Down Biden Impeachment

Consistently Surrendering Before the Election

To paraphrase Groundskeeper Willie of “The Simpsons,” the American people aren’t interested in a party full of ‘surrender monkeys,’ cheese-eating or otherwise.

It’s the Republicans’ job post-election to stop the bleeding. And that means stopping President Biden, not helping him.

“I don’t live in Washington, D.C. I live in Michigan. I talk to people every day,” McDaniel continued after suggesting the GOP would work with Biden.

“I talk to restaurant owners who are desperate to find labor. I talk to families who are dealing, including mine, with these education deficits with our kids being locked down,” she continued.

If she did it’s very likely they would have never said, ‘We want you to work with Biden.’

In fact, it’d be a safe bet that many more uttered the same words brought to you by Rashida Tlaib than anything else.

Ronna McDaniel’s comments aren’t the first example of pre-surrendering to President Biden before the elections have been held.

House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, quite likely the next Speaker of the House, has already indicated that should the GOP win back congressional control in the 2022 midterms, they will not impeach Biden.

“I think the country doesn’t like impeachment used for political purposes at all,” said McCarthy. “If anyone ever rises to that occasion, you have to, but I think the country wants to heal and … start to see the system that actually works.”

Heal? Work across the aisle?

President Biden had ample opportunity to take that path during his first two years in office. Instead, he has done nothing but demonize Republican voters as MAGA extremists, cast out concerned parents as domestic terrorists, and suggested everyday Americans are white supremacists.

He has politicized the FBI and DOJ to harass and pursue political opponents at every turn. He is the actual danger to democracy.

No, it’s not time to work across the aisle. Or to placate this President in order to heal the country. It’s time to put that worn-out donkey and his party out to pasture. To save the country.

Now is the time to support and share the sources you trust.
The Political Insider ranks #3 on Feedspot’s “100 Best Political Blogs and Websites.”

The post GOP Chairwoman: If Republicans Win Control of Congress They’ll Work With Biden appeared first on The Political Insider.

Latest Democrat Scare Tactic: Biden Calls DeSantis ‘Trump Incarnate’ At Florida Rally

With the 2022 midterm election just days away, President Joe Biden made a campaign stop in Florida on Tuesday for gubernatorial candidate Charlie Crist. There, he unveiled his latest scare tactic: compare GOP candidates to former President Donald Trump.

Actually it’s more than that – some Republicans are even worse than Trump! Hence Joe Biden calling current Gov. Ron DeSantis “Trump incarnate.”

Biden was stumping for Crist at a Democrat fundraiser in Golden Beach where he said this, “Charlie is running against Donald Trump incarnate. This guy doesn’t fit any of the categories I talked about. The way he deals, the way he denies.”

Biden continued, saying, “The rest of the world is looking at us, Charlie. They’re looking at us. It is really important that a state the size of Florida … comes down on the right side of history.”

RELATED: Nearly Two Open Jobs For Every Unemployed Worker, Data Shows

Republicans Are Nazis… Until They’re Not

In Democrats’ never ending case of self unawareness, Joe Biden also warned the crowd that if elected, Republicans would increase the everyday cost of living for Americans. But if anyone in the crowd has been to the grocery store, they might have figured out that the 40-year high inflation is already happening.

But Joe Biden comparing Ron DeSantis, or any Republican, unfavorably to Trump might be a new and improved version of Democrats comparing Republicans to Hitler and Nazis, until they say something that might be seen as coming around to the Democrats side.

For those who have an attention span longer than five minutes, you may recall George W. Bush was compared to Adolf Hitler on an almost daily basis throughout his presidency. But somehow, that all miraculously evaporated in March of 2017. During an interview with then-“Today” show Matt Lauer, the two were speaking about possible Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election.

Bush stated:

“I consider the media to be indispensable to democracy. We need the media to hold people like me to account. Power can be very addictive and it can be corrosive, and it’s important for the media to call to account people who abuse their power. We need all the answers.”

The turnaround was so fast, leftists heads seemed to be on a swivel.

Gavin Newsom declared, “I am typing these words: President George W. Bush is right. Freedom of the press is ‘indispensable to democracy.’” The editor of “ThinkProgress” Jedd Legum said, ”When did George W. Bush become a voice of reason?”

When liberals thought there was an outside chance he might make Donald Trump look bad. That’s when the former “Hitler” became a good guy, compared to “New Hitler” Donald Trump.

Former Vice President Dick Cheney was vilified for his role with Bush in the Iraq war.

But when he cut a campaign ad for daughter Liz’s congressional campaign, where he called Donald Trump a “coward,” he was welcomed on the House floor at an event where Democrats marked the anniversary of the Jan. 6 riot at the Capitol.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi glowingly stated, “We were very honored by his being here.”

RELATED: ‘Trick On Taxpayers’ Outlines Questionable Projects Funded By COVID-19 Relief

Bonus Points If A Republican Hates Trump

Like Dick Cheney, for whom all that needed to be done was to voice contempt for Donald Trump, Utah Sen. Mitt Romney, when he was GOP presidential candidate Mitt Romney, had implications of racism made against him for simply running against Barack Obama.

But upon his entry into the Senate and almost immediate criticism of Trump, NBC bemoaned the fact that, at the time, Romney was an island unto himself.

The implication is clear – whoever the current top Republican is, that person is the “New Hitler.” 

Then, when the next guy comes along, they become the “New Hitler,” and the old “New Hitler” becomes, actually, just a swell guy and an example of a “good Republican.” 

That’s what Joe Biden is signaling with this “Trump incarnate” jab at Ron DeSantis. 

Sometime in the near future, we could very well see the left and media compare Donald Trump favorably to the latest villain, Ron DeSantis.

Joe Biden was recently in Florida to look at damage left by Hurricane Ian, and praised DeSantis for relief efforts. DeSantis is comfortably leading Crist by 12.3 points and is expected to win reelection.

Now is the time to support and share the sources you trust.
The Political Insider ranks #3 on Feedspot’s “100 Best Political Blogs and Websites.”

The post Latest Democrat Scare Tactic: Biden Calls DeSantis ‘Trump Incarnate’ At Florida Rally appeared first on The Political Insider.

Cruz: Only Billionaires, Human Traffickers, and Fentanyl Dealers Are Better Off Under Biden

Senator Ted Cruz analyzed the question of whether or not Americans are better off under President Biden than they were two years ago, concluding that the only people reaping the rewards of his administration are Big Tech billionaires, human traffickers, and fentanyl dealers.

Cruz made the comments during an interview with Fox News personality and former Director of the National Economic Council, Larry Kudlow.

The Texas congressman harkened back to one of the most pivotal debate questions ever uttered when Ronald Reagan asked in a 1980 debate: “Are you better off today than you were four years ago?”

By any economic measure today, it is objectively true that Americans are worse off than when President Biden entered the White House. Cruz, however, did find a quasi-silver lining for the Democrats.

RELATED: Ted Cruz: Biden Impeachment Likely If Republicans Win Back The House

Cruz: Who’s Better Off Under Biden?

Cruz had a “very simple question” for voters sitting at home as they consider their vote in the upcoming midterm elections.

“Are you better off now than you were two years ago when Joe Biden became President?” he asked.

It’s a rhetorical question, of course.

But Cruz added a twist. Watch:

“If you’re a Big Tech billionaire, if you’re a human trafficker, if you’re a fentanyl dealer – then the answer is yes,” Cruz surmised.

“And you probably better go vote for the Democrats.”

RELATED: GOP Leader Kevin McCarthy Pre-Surrenders, Saying GOP Won’t Impeach Biden

Predicts a Massive Red Wave

Elsewhere in the segment, Senator Cruz predicted a massive red wave precisely because the American people are not better off under the Biden regime.

“This election is going to be such a wave election, it’s going to be like 2010,” he predicted. “Republicans are going to take both Houses [of Congress].”

Democrats lost the House and ceded the majority of governorships in 2010.

That prediction in itself is newsworthy. Cruz has contended for some time that he sees the GOP regaining control of the House of Representatives, but acknowledged taking back the Senate would be less likely.

“I put our odds at 50/50,” he previously said of potentially winning control of the Senate. “I think it’s going to be a really good year but it’s a bad map.”

Polls have shifted of late for Republicans in several Senate polls and have grown even more bullish on their chances in the House.

Cruz has asserted that President Biden’s greatest weakness is the border crisis, which has been a boon for human traffickers and fentanyl dealers.

The Texas Republican has suggested the border crisis and Biden’s “decision to just defy immigration laws” are the most likely grounds for impeachment.

“If we take the House, which I said is overwhelmingly likely, then I think we will see serious investigations of the Biden administration,” Cruz has said.

“I do think there’s a chance of that,” he added, referencing impeachment proceedings. “Whether it’s justified or not, the Democrats weaponized impeachment. They used it for partisan purposes to go after Trump because they disagreed with him.”

“One of the real disadvantages of doing that is the more you weaponize it and turn it into a partisan cudgel, you know what’s good for the goose is good for the gander,” he continued.

Biden’s border crisis is having devastating impacts on American families, as cartels use the crisis to smuggle fentanyl and poison our communities at “record rates.”

According to the DEA, “fentanyl is the single deadliest drug threat our nation has ever encountered.”

Now is the time to support and share the sources you trust.
The Political Insider ranks #3 on Feedspot’s “100 Best Political Blogs and Websites.”

The post Cruz: Only Billionaires, Human Traffickers, and Fentanyl Dealers Are Better Off Under Biden appeared first on The Political Insider.

GOP Leader Kevin McCarthy Pre-Surrenders, Saying GOP Won’t Impeach Biden

Kevin McCarthy doesn’t seem as enthralled with the prospect of impeaching President Biden quite as much as Republican voters might be.

The House Minority Leader, in an interview with Punchbowl News, was already admitting that should the GOP win back congressional control in the 2022 midterms, they will not impeach President Biden.

“I think the country doesn’t like impeachment used for political purposes at all,” said McCarthy. “If anyone ever rises to that occasion, you have to, but I think the country wants to heal and … start to see the system that actually works.”

Later, when asked if anyone in the current administration has risen to the level of impeachment, the California Republican responded, “I don’t see it before me right now.”

RELATED: Kevin McCarthy, GOP Worked to Oust MAGA Republican Madison Cawthorn, America First Candidates

Kevin Flakin’: We’re Better Than the Democrats

Kevin McCarthy went on to hint that he plans to hold a Republican majority to a higher standard than that displayed by Democrats during the Trump era.

And they absolutely deserve no such favor.

“You watch what the Democrats did – they all came out and said they would impeach before Trump was ever sworn in,” he said. “There wasn’t a purpose for it.”

Somebody with an actual spine would conclude that this means it’s time to play by the rules already put forth. But then, McCarthy doesn’t come off as such.

This perpetual cycle of ‘we’re above that kind of thing’ while watching Democrats treat Republican president after Republican president as the next coming of Hitler needs to end.

Does he truly think that if Donald Trump or Ron DeSantis wins the presidency in 2024 that Democrats won’t pursue impeachment to the ends of the Earth, with little to no ‘purpose’?

RELATED: Matt Gaetz Warns There Are Republican Squishes Already Trying to Shut Down Biden Impeachment

Afraid of the ‘I’ Word

MAGA Representative Matt Gaetz (R-FL), in an interview in recent weeks, claimed there are Republican lawmakers already voicing opposition to impeaching President Biden.

“There are current members of the Republican majority, people who will be in the next Congress, who are arguing very, very fervently that they will oppose the use of the ‘I’ word, impeachment, in any context for any official in the Biden administration,” Gaetz reported.

“And I believe that would totally misunderstand the mandate that the American people are giving us.”

A Rasmussen Reports survey last month indicates that 52% of American voters overall support the impeachment of Joe Biden.

That includes an overwhelming number of Republican voters and even half of Independents. Meaning the only group who opposes impeachment are the Democrats.

Democrats and elected Republicans, it seems.

Does McCarthy believe he works for them?

SOUND OFF: Should Republicans impeach President Biden?

By voting, you agree to receive email communication from The Political Insider. Click HERE for more information.

Even then, Rasmussen Reports indicates a third of Democrat voters believe President Biden should be impeached.

Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX), unlike McCarthy, understands that the Democrats are the ones who opened Pandora’s Box when it comes to the ‘I’ word.

“Whether it’s justified or not, the Democrats weaponized impeachment. They used it for partisan purposes to go after Trump because they disagreed with him,” Cruz said.

That’s the bar now, Chief.

Now is the time to support and share the sources you trust.
The Political Insider ranks #3 on Feedspot’s “100 Best Political Blogs and Websites.”

The post GOP Leader Kevin McCarthy Pre-Surrenders, Saying GOP Won’t Impeach Biden appeared first on The Political Insider.

How a GOP Congress could try to impeach a Biden Cabinet member

Republicans have vowed to use the full power of the House of Representatives if they take control in November, threatening everything from shutting down investigations into the Jan. 6 riot at the Capitol to impeaching President Biden and his cabinet secretaries.

While Republicans are all but certain to terminate the select committee on the Jan. 6 attack, it's less clear whether they'll risk the political uncertainties of an impeachment trial.

But if they take the plunge, their sights will be on Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas.

In a letter to Mayorkas last week, GOP Sens. Lindsey Graham (S.C.) and Ted Cruz (Texas) explicitly threatened impeachment over the secretary's "gross dereliction of duty" in managing the U.S.-Mexico border.

That missive followed an April letter led by the Republican Study Committee and signed by 133 House Republicans that avoided explicitly calling for impeachment, but laid out the case for Republicans to raise immigration policy differences to the level of impeachable offenses.

"Your actions have willingly endangered American citizens and undermined the rule of law and our nation's sovereignty. Your failure to secure the border and enforce the laws passed by Congress raises grave questions about your suitability for office," wrote the lawmakers.

The Constitution allows for impeachment of the president and other “civil officers” for “treason, bribery, or other high crimes and misdemeanors."

But it's unclear what is meant by "high crimes and misdemeanors," and impeachment is understood to be an essentially political act – a Senate would need very little substantial cause to convict an official impeached by the House.

"With my political scientist hat on, I'd say what counts as a high crime or misdemeanor is what you can get two thirds of the Senate to vote to convict on. And that in itself, it's not a substantive standard. It's a procedural one," said Josh Chafetz, a professor of law at Georgetown University.

But Chafetz added that's a "very high bar," since it would require significant buy-in from the president's party.

And while technically there are no limits – other than whip counts in both chambers – to what behaviors Congress can interpret as "high crimes and misdemeanors," precedent does set some boundaries.

“The Constitution provides for impeachment in the case of treason, bribery, or other high crimes and misdemeanors — not for political revenge or partisan retribution," said David Rapallo, director of the Federal Legislation Clinic at Georgetown Law.

That reading still leaves space for debate as to what constitutes grounds for conviction under impeachment.

"There's been a debate about whether there must be a statutory code violation of a crime to impeach. The general view is that it doesn't necessarily have to be a criminal act under the statutory code, but rather an abuse of power in some way,” said Rapallo.

The Republican case against Mayorkas lies largely on high migrant apprehension and drug interdiction numbers at the southwest border.

U.S. officials encountered 2,150,639 immigrants entering the country without prior authorization in the first 11 months of fiscal 2022, breaking the record for encounters in a year.

And fentanyl seizures continue to rise, as Mexican drug cartels abandon other drugs for the cheaper-to-produce synthetic opioid.

If the GOP takes control of the House, they will almost certainly bring down the hammer on Mayorkas through congressional oversight, but Republicans seem eager to raise the specter of impeachment.

In their letter, Graham and Cruz accuse Mayorkas of aggravating conditions on the border, in part by attempting to end policies put in place under the Trump administration, namely construction of the border wall; the Migrant Protection Protocols (MPP), better known as "Remain in Mexico"; and Title 42, a policy to quickly expel foreign nationals under the guise of pandemic protections.

While the Department of Homeland Security halted border wall construction shortly after Biden took office, Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officials announced a plan to return to construction sites in the Sonoran Desert to resume construction of some segments of the wall.

But Graham and Cruz zeroed in on Mayorkas' attempts to end MPP, which are tangled up in the courts.

"Your expedited and repeated rejection of President Trump's successful Migrant Protection Protocols … demonstrates your willingness to embrace an open-borders agenda that undermines America's safety," they wrote. 

"You have been specifically instructed by the court to implement the protocol in good faith or take new agency action that complied with the law. You have done neither."

While the Biden administration was originally directed by the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals to continue MPP's implementation "in good faith," the case was returned to a lower court after the Supreme Court sided with the Biden administration's plans to end the policy.

A lower court lifted the order to continue implementing MPP and DHS has been winding the program down.

"In short, MPP is over for now, although there is confusion surrounding its ending," reads a post on MPP's current state of affairs on the American Immigration Lawyers Association blog.

That distinction could blunt the GOP senators' call for impeachment.

"The traditional story we tell about impeachment in America is that it doesn't apply to just bad policy. It's not about maladministration, but rather, it's about malfeasance or nonfeasance," said Chafetz.

And historical precedent is on cabinet members' side when it comes to impeachment.

The only cabinet member ever impeached was 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, Oklahoma.

While most historians agree the accusations against Belknap were credible, he avoided conviction in his 1876 impeachment trial because he resigned on the same day he was impeached.

Like President Nixon nearly a century later, Belknap chose to resign rather than face almost certain conviction in the Senate, although the House did pass Belknap's articles of impeachment.

“If it were something like Richard Nixon — that era where his own party was telling him what was coming, and it would be better for him to resign than go through that process — he chose to resign, and after that occurred, they didn't go forward,” said Rapallo.

The precedent that being out of office obviates an impeachment conviction was reinforced in 2021, when Trump was acquitted in his second impeachment trial after leaving office.

Because of that precedent, any official facing probable impeachment conviction is more likely to resign than to become the first executive officer convicted by the Senate.

"​​​​I just don't see any way they would get to 67 [Senate votes] based on what we've seen now," said Chafetz.

"Now, again, if it turns out tomorrow that some member of the cabinet has a freezer full of cash that they got from a foreign government, sure. But of course in that situation, they'd almost certainly resign or be fired," he added.

Conversely, Biden and his cabinet are unlikely to yield in an impeachment trial they can win, even if the proceedings disrupt an official's duties.

"If you're Biden, it's a short term-long term trade off, because maybe the department can get a move on with business, but the Republicans have successfully claimed a scalp and what's to prevent them from going after the next cabinet official?" said Chafetz.

And if Republicans do take the House, their leadership ranks will have their hands full controlling an ideological and outspoken caucus.

While at least two separate articles of impeachment have been filed against Biden by Republican lawmakers in the current Congress, GOP leadership has not invested political capital in those bills.

Any GOP impeachment of Biden risks being seen as a tit-for-tat over the two Democratic impeachments of Trump, and that protection could extend to cabinet secretaries.

“The Constitution doesn't provide for impeaching a cabinet secretary because you think impeaching the president is too much politically,” said Rapallo.

And dragging immigration into a constitutional controversy could backfire for Republicans.

“It's well known that the Republicans were close to agreeing on legislation related to immigration, but changed their minds and haven't been interested in solving the problem since then,” said Rapallo.

“So on one hand, to walk away from the effort to legislate, and then on the other, to go after the cabinet secretary who's charged with implementing the laws is a little rich, I would say.”  

Report: Biden Accused of Sending ‘Clandestine’ Flights of Migrant Children to New York

A mayor in upstate New York has accused the Biden administration of conducting seemingly “clandestine” flights of migrant children into the state, with one witness claiming they thought it was “against their will.”

The news comes just weeks after Florida Governor Ron DeSantis was accused of “kidnapping” illegal immigrants and sending them to Martha’s Vineyard.

The New York Post reports that at least two flights came from El Paso, Texas and arrived in Montgomery County, New York, and carried dozens of minors between the ages of 13 and 18.

The flights have all the hallmarks of what DeSantis and Texas Governor Greg Abbott have been accused of by Democrats and the media.

“This seems clandestine,” Montgomery Village Mayor Steve Brescia told the Post.

He also suggested officials were “never informed” about the flights.

“It’s just disturbing we weren’t informed of any of this,” Brescia complained.

RELATED: After Lawsuit Threat, DeSantis Produces Consent Form Used to Fly Migrants to Martha’s Vineyard

Secret Flights of Migrant Children?

The Biden administration’s flights of illegal immigrants across the country have been an open secret for some time. Officials at the White House contend there is nothing clandestine about them or the timing of their arrivals – oftentimes late at night.

The Political Insider reported in June that the Biden administration had increased migrant flights into New York – happening since at least August of 2021 – with an additional airport being utilized to handle the overflow.

A local reporter shared video and captioned it with a disclaimer stating “officials say flights are legal under U.S. immigration law.”

But Brescia’s use of the word ‘clandestine’ seems relevant, especially considering that is the exact phrasing the New York Times used in accusing DeSantis of illegality for the Martha’s Vineyard flights.

“Details have begun to emerge of the clandestine mission that was carried out,” they wrote, referencing “flights paid for with state money in possible violation of the state law that allocated the money.”

One can reasonably assume the Times will not only avoid the word ‘clandestine’ in describing the Biden migrant flights, but they will likely not even cover the story at all.

RELATED: DeSantis Says Gavin Newsom’s ‘Hair Gel’ is Affecting Brain Function After CA Governor Demands ‘Kidnapping’ Charges

The Hypocrisy is Unreal

California Governor Gavin Newsom sent a letter to Attorney General Merrick Garland last month requesting the Department of Justice look into “kidnapping” charges for those involved in the effort to send illegal immigrants to Massachusetts.

Several Democrats and media personalities griped that DeSantis did not alert authorities at the flight destination locations and have suggested the illegals were ‘tricked’ into boarding the plane.

And on those counts, the hypocrisy is rich.

Authorities in Montgomery County were allegedly so completely left in the dark about what was happening that somebody noticing “suspicious” activity at the airport and had to alert them to the matter.

The police then had to chase down the buses taking them elsewhere.

“Police quickly intercepted the bus as it left the airport to question the chaperones and migrant kids, who hailed from Honduras, Ecuador, Guatemala, El Salvador and Nicaragua,” the Post reports.

Additionally, the initial call to authorities “stated the witness thought he heard one of the children say they were here against their will.”

It is unclear if these flights followed established protocols for transporting illegal immigrant minors.

Montgomery County’s Deputy Police Chief Paul Arteta said adults accompanied the minors and had the paperwork on their flight plans and destinations – including “a dozen different shelters, children’s homes and ‘vetted sponsors’ across New York, New Jersey and Connecticut.”

“Taking them 2,000 or 3,000 miles further away from where they originated is just terrible,” Arteta said. “They knew they were going to be helped in some way but they had absolutely no clue what was going on.”

Republican Representative Claudia Tenney of New York called for President Biden’s impeachment over the illegal immigrant flights into her state earlier this year.

“This is a complete, aggravated dereliction of duty, which is why … I called for Joe Biden to be impeached and removed,” she demanded.

“His primary obligation as the commander-in-chief and president of the United States is to enforce our laws, to live up to his oath, to enforce our border security, and to tell the truth to the American people,” Tenney insisted.

Now is the time to support and share the sources you trust.
The Political Insider ranks #3 on Feedspot’s “100 Best Political Blogs and Websites.”

The post Report: Biden Accused of Sending ‘Clandestine’ Flights of Migrant Children to New York appeared first on The Political Insider.

Matt Gaetz Warns There Are Republican Squishes Already Trying to Shut Down Biden Impeachment

MAGA Representative Matt Gaetz, in an interview on Steve Bannon’s War Room podcast, claims there are Republican lawmakers already voicing opposition to impeaching President Biden should the GOP take back the House.

Gaetz also says some of his Republican colleagues are working against the impeachment of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, who he accuses of “purposefully turning our border into a turnstile.”

“There are current members of the Republican majority, people who will be in the next Congress, who are arguing very, very fervently that they will oppose the use of the ‘I’ word, impeachment, in any context for any official in the Biden administration,” he told Bannon.

“And I believe that would totally misunderstand the mandate that the American people are giving us.”

RELATED: MAGA Rep Marjorie Taylor Greene Calls For Biden’s Impeachment Following ‘President Butterbeans’ Divisive Speech

Gaetz: Biden Impeachment is a Priority

Gaetz has insisted impeachment must be a priority for Republicans should the midterms yield control of the House. He notes that it’s time to start fighting fire with fire.

Democrats, after all, did not hesitate to impeach Trump for a pair of absurd reasons that did not amount to high crimes and misdemeanors.

“If we don’t use the same tools, if we don’t engage in impeachment inquiries to get the documents and the testimony and the information we need, then I believe that our voters will feel betrayed,” said Gaetz.

“And that likely could be the biggest win that Democrats could hope for in 2024,” he surmised.

 

RELATED: Hollywood Conservative Jon Voight Calls On Joe Biden To Be Impeached

Plenty of Reasons to Impeach – But Who Will Actually Do It?

The Political Insider reported in December that the GOP is planning investigations on several fronts should they prevail in the midterms: The IRS, the National Security Agency, parents of school children, the border crisis, COVID response, and Afghanistan.

While it would be nice to get them all on record, we can only guess as to which Republicans would actually follow through on an impeachment inquiry into President Biden regarding any of these issues.

I’m pretty confident Gaetz would pursue the inquiry.

Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) as recently as a few weeks ago insisted Biden should be impeached following his divisive speech in which he called Republicans who back Donald Trump “extremists.”

“I guess when President Butterbeans is frail, weak, and dementia ridden, the Hitler imagery was their attempt to make him look ‘tough’ while he declares war on half of America as enemies of the state,” Greene tweeted.

Another MAGA Rep., Lauren Boebert (R-CO), wasn’t shy about calling for Biden’s impeachment over last year’s disastrous troop withdrawal from Afghanistan.

Who else would be on board?

Representative Nancy Mace, by contrast, recently made the absurd argument that impeaching President Biden would be a “divisive” move.

“I will not vote for impeachment of any president if I feel that due process was stripped away, for anyone,” she told MSNBC. “I typically vote constitutionally, regardless of who is in power.”

Senator Ted Cruz has suggested the House has grounds to begin impeachment hearings against President Biden.

“If we take the House, which I said is overwhelmingly likely, then I think we will see serious investigations of the Biden administration,” Cruz said.

Cruz, unlike the Republican squishes who Gaetz claims are already backing down, understands that the Democrats are the ones who opened Pandora’s Box.

“Whether it’s justified or not, the Democrats weaponized impeachment. They used it for partisan purposes to go after Trump because they disagreed with him,” Cruz said.

According to Rasmussen Reports, a majority of voters – including a third of Democrats – believe President Biden should be impeached.

“Republican voters overwhelmingly believe President Joe Biden should be impeached, and half of independents agree,” the polling outfit reports.

GOP lawmakers and candidates should be asked if they’d be willing to consider moving on a matter that a majority of Americans want them to pursue.

Now is the time to support and share the sources you trust.
The Political Insider ranks #3 on Feedspot’s “100 Best Political Blogs and Websites.”

The post Matt Gaetz Warns There Are Republican Squishes Already Trying to Shut Down Biden Impeachment appeared first on The Political Insider.

Mace says there is ‘pressure on the Republicans’ to impeach Biden if they win House

Rep. Nancy Mace (R-S.C.) on Sunday said Republicans will face pressure to impeach President Biden if they take the House majority in the midterms.

“I believe there's a lot of pressure on Republicans to have that vote, to put that legislation forward, and to have that vote,” Mace said of an impeachment vote when asked by NBC “Meet the Press” moderator Chuck Todd. 

“I think that is something that some folks are considering,” she continued.

Mace declined to say how she would vote on a potential Biden impeachment, but noted that she did not vote to impeach former President Trump in 2021 because “due process was stripped away.”

“I will not vote for impeachment of any president if I feel that due process has been stripped away for anyone, and I typically vote constitutionally regardless of who's in power,” she told Todd.

“I want to do the right thing for the long term because this isn't just about today, tomorrow, this year's election. This is about the future of democracy. This is about protecting our Constitution.”

Others in Mace’s conference have already taken the first step toward impeaching the president.

Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) introduced articles of impeachment against Biden the day after his inauguration, accusing him of abuse of power in relation to the business dealings of his son, Hunter Biden, in Ukraine.

House Republican leadership last week released an outline of their agenda if they take the House majority, dubbed “Commitment to America.”

The agenda proposes conducting “rigorous oversight to rein in government abuse of power and corruption,” referencing the origins of the COVID-19 pandemic and the Biden administration’s handling of the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan, although it does not detail specifics as to how Republicans would do so.

When pressed on Republicans’ potential plans to impeach Biden, Mace on Sunday said she would prefer to keep the focus on reducing inflation and improving the economy, rather than “chasing that rabbit down the hole.”

“I do believe it's divisive, which is why I push back on it personally when I hear folks saying they're going to file articles of impeachment in the House,” she said. “I push back against those comments because we need to be working together.”