Senate Republicans lukewarm at best on House GOP plan to impeachment Mayorkas
Senate Republicans aren't convinced Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas deserves to be impeached and removed from office.
Manchin dismisses Mayorkas impeachment
An impeachment trial for DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas in the Senate? Not happening, says Joe Manchin.
The moderate West Virginia senator, no fan of President Joe Biden's handling of the border, dismissed the House's plans to impeach Mayorkas in a Thursday interview. The House is slated to vote on impeachment next week, but that could be the end of the story in Congress.
"It's crap. Pure crap. No trial at all, it's ridiculous. The trial will be in November. No. You start that craziness and play games and that stuff?" Manchin said. Cabinet officials "work for the president. You got a problem, go to the polls."
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer declined to say how the Senate might handle Mayorkas' impeachment this week, but there appears to be no appetite to hold a trial, particularly among Senate Democrats.
The Senate can dismiss a trial with a simple majority of votes — and some Republicans don't want to have one either.
Sen. Jon Tester (D-Mont.), who is up for reelection, said he'll look at it but "it's hard for me to see what ground they are going to impeach him on."
"Are they going to impeach him because people are coming across the border? Then pass the goddamn" border bill, Tester said.
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Plus: Homeland Security secretary Alejandro Mayorkas faces impeachment.
Republicans test border security as campaign strategy in bellwether special election
NEW YORK — House Republicans are banking on border security being key to keeping their majority. The special election in a district straddling Long Island and migrant-overwhelmed New York City provides their first test case.
Outside a sprawling migrant shelter last week, Ethiopian-born Mazi Pilip introduced herself to reporters as a legal immigrant before identifying herself as a GOP congressional candidate. She then linked Democrat Tom Suozzi — her opponent in the race to replace George Santos — to what she described as President Joe Biden’s failed border policies.
Facing cameras in the same spot moments later, Suozzi delivered a rebuttal, arguing Republicans are politicizing the issue instead of solving it.
The competing news conferences outside the Creedmoor Psychiatric Center migrant tent complex in Queens laid bare how central the border fight is in this local race. And they underscored how illegal immigration and national security are affecting voters in a presidential election year as Republicans hammer Biden over the border.
The Long Island race on Feb. 13 should be Democrats’ to lose.
They’re running a familiar candidate, vastly outspending the GOP and are not the party of Santos — the first Republican ever expelled from Congress. Suozzi, a former House member with centrist views, would appear to be a heavyweight against Pilip, a political novice who makes herself scarce on the trail and keeps some views close to the vest.
But between the surge of migrants to New York City — more than 170,000 since April 2022 — and the infrastructure of the hyper-organized Nassau County Republican Committee, Democrats find themselves on the defensive.
“This is our seat to win,” Rep. Anthony D’Esposito, a Nassau County Republican, said in an interview. “This is going to be the message that is sent across this country and to Minority Leader [Hakeem] Jeffries that perhaps they should be investing their money somewhere else in the general.”
The face-off between Pilip and Suozzi marks the first House race of the year. And it has provided some early insights into how each party is campaigning.
So far, Democrats are showing caution as Republicans are projecting confidence — especially around border politics.
“I will work to stop Joe Biden and Tom Suozzi’s sanctuary city policies and secure our border and invest in our brave ICE agents,” Pilip pledged outside Creedmoor.
Her campaign’s first three TV ads have featured juxtaposed images of Suozzi, Biden and masses of migrants on the move at the Southern border. An ad push by the House GOP super PAC Congressional Leadership Fund also capitalizes on migrant crisis backlash.
There’s good reason for that: An Emerson College/PIX11 poll found 26 percent of voters in the district listed immigration as their top concern. The same poll, the only public survey released thus far, showed Pilip within three points of Suozzi, who represented the district for six years.
Republicans have an easier task.
They must persuade voters concerned enough to head to the polls in a typically low-turnout special election that they have a better handle over the migrant crisis. And in Washington, House Republicans have advanced impeachment articles against Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas. Some reject the notion that they should negotiate with the Democrats on a border deal, saying instead that Biden should enforce laws already on the books.
Democrats, by contrast, are on the defensive.
They must juggle acknowledging the gravity of the situation while calling out the GOP on leveraging it for political gain — and do both without undermining the president.
“I agree, it’s a big, big problem,” Suozzi said at a recent news conference, referring to the migrant crisis. “Why would you not do everything in your power to try and get a bipartisan deal done to fix this problem?”
Democrats and allied PACs in ads and mailers have portrayed Pilip as beholden to “MAGA Republicans,” tied her to extremist policies like a proposed nationwide ban on abortion and accused her of hiding from hard questions. (She has called herself “pro-life,” but has said she would not support a federal ban on abortion.) Suozzi’s campaign has run mostly biographical ads about his work across the aisle and touted his support for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
The party that wins can claim momentum ahead of November, when six competitive New York House races will help determine which party wields the speakership come 2025. And the special election results will shape messaging nationwide in a presidential contest focused on inflation, the Israel-Hamas war, abortion access and illegal immigration.
“Fear-mongering is an effective tool for campaigning,” Rep. Grace Meng, a Queens Democrat, said in an interview. “But our responsibility as legislators is to provide solutions, and at the very least, to show up and talk to our voters, which is not happening.”
The comment was a dig at Pilip’s limited time in the public eye.
The first news conference of her campaign occurred six weeks after she was nominated.
Three days later, the Nassau GOP hosted a rally with eight House Republicans, including Majority Whip Tom Emmer, but excluded the candidate they were on hand to honor. Organizers had scheduled an event at a time when Pilp, an Orthodox Jew, was observing the Sabbath.
Additionally, Pilip has agreed to just one debate against Suozzi.
What’s nonetheless clear is that Republicans are framing Suozzi and Biden as a threat to their way of life.
“This ain’t about Nassau County, about the North Shore. It’s about the United States of America,” Nassau GOP chairman Joe Cairo said. “We have to stop the nonsense.”
Suozzi may be uniquely positioned to take it all on. Rather than a full-throated defense of Biden, the former representative has shown a readiness to call out obstinance in either party.
“And the Democrats who say, ‘My way or the highway,’ they’re wrong, too,” he said. “The key to solving problems, complicated problems, is compromise.”
Republicans, including Suozzi’s former congressional colleague Pete King, say it may not be enough in a region that has turned red over the years, thanks to the Nassau Republican apparatus.
Democrats say it will have to be.
“This race sets the tone for Long Island, it sets the tone for New York State, it sets the tone for the battle for the House,” said Zak Malamed, a former House candidate who endorsed Suozzi. “Some are describing this race as the Alamo for Nassau County Democrats.”
Trump influence over congressional GOP spikes ever higher
Before Jason Smith moved his $78 billion bipartisan tax deal through the House, the Ways and Means chair made sure to run it by Donald Trump.
In a 90-minute meeting in December, Smith briefed Trump on the package that would expand the child tax credit and provide a series of business tax breaks — a move that helped ensure Trump would not scuttle the deal. The former president, presumably, gave him that reassurance.
“I have discussions with President Trump quite often, and he was well aware that this is a big win for his policies,” Smith (R-Mo.) said, recalling the lengthy conversation about the tax package that overwhelmingly passed this week. “President Trump is the leader of the Republican Party. People may not want to admit that. But he has been for a long time.”
Trump's restraint made it easier for House Republicans to steer the deal to overwhelming bipartisan passage. By contrast, the president's vocal opposition has essentially put the Senate’s emerging border deal on life support.
With every day that Trump draws closer to the GOP’s presidential nomination, his voice carries more weight within the party. The former president, who holds no elected office, arguably can exert more influence over the Republican agenda than either the party’s speaker or Senate GOP leader.
It’s a 180-degree turn from three years ago, when Trump’s efforts to overturn his loss to President Joe Biden culminated in a violent Capitol riot that ended with seven Republican senators voting to convict him in a second impeachment trial. These days, Republicans are increasingly sensitive to Trump's viewpoints and conscious of his power to upend bills that Joe Biden might be able to tout on the campaign trail.
At a minimum, Trump’s ballooning clout could doom two top Biden priorities: Ukraine aid and a bipartisan border deal. Even the tax deal Trump blessed on its way to House passage faces an uncertain future in the Senate, where some Republicans have warned that it could amount to a win for Biden. Republicans are still wondering whether Trump might publicly support the tax bill, according to interviews with several senators this week, with Finance Committee ranking member Mike Crapo (R-Idaho) saying he’s only heard “rumors.”
On the other side of that GOP divide, a sizable number of lawmakers are chafing at the idea that Trump can single-handedly tie their hands.
“I just think it's unfortunate that we can't, as individual United States senators, take the time and the effort and intellectual honesty to study something on your own and make a decision,” said Sen. Kevin Cramer (R-N.D.). “Donald Trump has an opinion too. That's great, but ours should be our opinion.”
When the Senate started its bipartisan border negotiations last fall — a Republican demand, to be clear — it still was not entirely clear Trump would lock up the GOP nomination. More than three months later, as those negotiations come to a close, Trump's collision course with Biden is threatening any deal in Congress that has Biden’s imprint on it.
So Trump's attacks have become something of a bat signal now for many Republicans in Congress.
“When former President Trump says something, everybody listens,” said Rep. Tony Gonzales (R-Texas), who hails from a border district. “Everybody.”
When Trump was president, he frequently dialed up senators and members of Congress to discuss the daily Washington grind of politics and policy. He tanked a 2018 border deal, leaned on senators to support his nominees and developed his own kitchen cabinet of congressional advisers — some of whom, like former Speaker Kevin McCarthy and former Sen. David Perdue, are no longer in Congress.
So Trump’s leaning on old and new allies as he prepares for a fall slugfest over control of Congress and the White House. In the House, he frequently chats with Speaker Mike Johnson, according to advisers, as well as Reps. Elise Stefanik of New York, Max Miller of Ohio, Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia and Ronny Jackson of Texas.
Over in the Senate, Trump iAndrew Harniks in regular contact with lawmakers like Sens. J.D. Vance of Ohio, Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, Steve Daines of Montana, Marsha Blackburn of Tennessee and Tommy Tuberville of Alabama.
"President Trump has worked to develop and maintain close relationships with Congressional members and elected officials that fight for the American people. That's why he's received overwhelming support," Trump spokesperson Steven Cheung said in a statement.
Trump views his relationships on the Hill as critical to his return to power. Over the course of the past year, he has spoken to over 100 members, soliciting endorsements and inviting them to his rallies or dinner at Mar-a-Lago. He has worked closely with Brian Jack, a senior campaign aide and congressional liaison, on cultivating relationships on the Hill.
His efforts have been fairly successful; Trump currently boasts the support of 137 House members and 31 senators. And when Republicans call Trump, it is often to ask for his opinion on whatever is playing out on the Hill as a kind of party elder, according to an adviser.
Still, even some Trump allies disagree. Graham said he speaks with Trump regularly, but he was comfortable differing with the former president and backing more aid to Ukraine, saying: "My policy ideas are pretty firm.” He was unwilling to comment yet on the border deal until he sees text.
Vance, another close Trump ally, seems to be more en vogue with the former president.
“I've made the argument on Ukraine that it's very stupid for us to get crosswise with the party’s nominees, especially on an issue where he's very directly opposed to Joe Biden,” Vance said. “Where I am substantively aligned with President Trump, which is on most things, my strong preference is that the caucus listens to President Trump.”
While Vance and other Trump confidants say that he isn’t personally lobbying GOP lawmakers to kill the border and Ukraine deal, that’s probably because he doesn’t need to. As the Republican primary fizzled out and Trump romped in the two early states, the GOP is intuitively reacting to Trump’s positions to avoid getting too far out of step with him.
The effect is most pronounced in the House, where two-year terms and a constant threat to Johnson’s job make it politically perilous to diverge from Trump. Plus, House members are more susceptible to primary challenges that could easily spring from Trump-defying votes, like on the Senate’s border and Ukraine package.
“President Trump has had an influence on it. You also have to think about where we are in political cycles," Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) said. “If you’ve got somebody who’s got a filing deadline in March or April or May, there’d be no way to prevent an uninformed person from challenging them.”
Tillis, one of Congress' most prominent deal-cutters, is urging other Republicans to develop their own opinions about legislation. The North Carolina Republican is opposing Smith’s tax bill and supporting Sen. James Lankford’s (R-Okla.) border deal, which backers argue won’t hurt Trump because it comes far too late to save Biden’s standing on the issue.
Trump realizes the border "is a potent issue for him. What I would tell him is I don't think the issue is going to go away,” said Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas), a potential future GOP leader who has endorsed Trump. “Even if something were to pass in the next 10 months, I don't think you're gonna see a dramatic change at the border.”
So far, that argument has not sunk in. Trump visited Washington this week and attacked the border deal, warning that those who support it are making a “terrible mistake.” Episodes like that remind Republicans trying to negotiate deals Trump doesn't like — and break Congress' stubborn unproductive streak — that every day becomes more of an uphill battle.
“You gotta read it and understand that there are divided chambers and tight margins. And is half a loaf better than no loaf? That's what we got to look at,” said Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick (R-Pa.).
GOP Rep. Ken Buck a ‘solid’ no on Mayorkas impeachment: ‘This just isn’t an impeachable offense’
Rep. Ken Buck, Colorado Republican, said Thursday he is a "solid" no on removing Mr. Mayorkas but not because he supports the man who has overseen a border chaos that Republicans blamed on his open-border practices.
Texas AG Ken Paxton sues 5 cities over marijuana amnesty policies, cites drug’s reported links to ‘psychosis’
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has filed lawsuits against five Texas cities – Austin, Denton, San Marcos, Killeen and Elgin – over their marijuana amnesty and non-prosecution policies.
The litigation charges that the five municipalities adopted ordinances or policies instructing police not to enforce Texas drug laws concerning possession and distribution of marijuana, which the state attorney general's office describes as "an illicit substance that psychologists have increasingly linked to psychosis and other negative consequences."
"I will not stand idly by as cities run by pro-crime extremists deliberately violate Texas law and promote the use of illicit drugs that harm our communities," Paxton said in a statement Wednesday. "This unconstitutional action by municipalities demonstrates why Texas must have a law to ‘follow the law.’ It’s quite simple: the legislature passes every law after a full debate on the issues, and we don’t allow cities the ability to create anarchy by picking and choosing the laws they enforce."
The ordinances notably prevent city funds from going toward or personnel from even testing suspected marijuana seized by police officers, with limited exceptions.
The attorney general's office said Paxton "remains committed to maintaining law and order in Texas when cities violate the lawful statutes designed to protect the public from crime, drugs, and violence. He continues to seek accountability for the rogue district attorneys whose abuse of prosecutorial discretion has contributed to a deadly national crimewave."
The lawsuits stress that Texas Local Government Code forbids any political subdivision from adopting "a policy under which the entity will not fully enforce laws relating to drugs." Further, the Texas Constitution notes that it is unlawful for municipalities to adopt ordinances that are inconsistent with the laws enacted by the Texas Legislature (Article 9, Section 5).
Namely, with the Democratically-run city of Austin, Paxton's lawsuit takes issue with an order that became effective on July 3, 2020, instructing the Austin Police Department not to make an arrest or issue a citation for marijuana possession unless in the investigation of a violent felony or high priority felony-level narcotics case.
A ballot measure known as Proposition A to further eliminate low-level marijuana enforcement later won the vote in 2022, and the City Council codified it into law as the Austin Freedom Act.
In addition to limiting police from filing marijuana possession charges unless they come as part of a high-level probe or at the direction of a commander, the measure also states that no city funds or personnel shall be used to request, conduct, or obtain tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) testing of any cannabis-related substance, except in some limited circumstances. It adds the caveat that the prohibition shall not limit the ability of police to conduct toxicology testing to ensure public safety, nor shall it limit THC testing for the purpose of any violent felony charge.
ALARMING NEW TREND IS EMERGING AS YOUNGER AMERICANS ESCHEW ALCOHOL ON DATES, GO MORE FOR CANNABIS
Austin, Denton, San Marcos, Killeen and Eligin are all considered "home-rule" jurisdictions, meaning they have the "full power of self-government" and do not need grants from the state legislature to enact local ordinances.
In Killeen, located next to the once embattled Fort Hood, since renamed Fort Cavazos, voters approved a Proposition A of their own in 2022.
It similarly states that officers should not make arrests for marijuana possession or drug residue alone. If there is probable cause to believe a substance is marijuana, officers can seize the substance. But the ordinance requires that police then also write a detailed report and release the individual if possession of marijuana is the sole charge.
In Denton, located in the Dallas Fort-Worth metro area, another similar measure enacted by City Council known as Proposition B says officers cannot issue citations or make arrests for Class A or B misdemeanor marijuana possession. Elgin, considered a suburb of Austin, and San Marcos, which sits on the corridor between Austin and San Antonio, also both adopted similar ordinances designed to stifle marijuana enforcement in conflict with state law, according to Paxton's lawsuits.
The litigation comes after headline-making news out of California, where a judge recently ruled a woman who stabbed her boyfriend 108 times before slicing her own neck as police tried to stop her will not serve any prison time because she had fallen into a pot-fueled psychosis after getting high on drugs at the time.
Though unrelated, the marijuana lawsuits were filed just a day after the Texas Supreme Court on Tuesday agreed to temporarily halt Paxton's scheduled testimony in a whistleblower lawsuit that was at the heart of the impeachment charges brought against him in 2023, delaying what could have been the Republican’s first sworn statements on corruption allegations.
James Biden to Appear before House Oversight Committee in Impeachment Inquiry
Hunter Biden will appear before the committee just one week after his uncle James for a private deposition.
House Oversight, Judiciary to hear testimony from another Biden family biz associate amid impeachment inquiry
The House Oversight and Judiciary committees are expected to hear testimony from another Biden family business associate Thursday.
Joey Langston is expected to appear before the committees Thursday morning on Capitol Hill for a closed-door, transcribed interview.
Langston is said to have hosted fundraisers for Joe Biden and donated thousands to his political campaigns.
The House Oversight Committee says Langston pleaded guilty in 2008 to participating in a conspiracy to attempt to influence a judge by providing the judge with "favorable consideration" for a federal judgeship. Langston was sentenced to three years in federal prison and fined $250,000.
The Mississippi state bar then disbarred him from practicing law. And, in 2016, a federal judge denied his requests to have his "conviction for conspiring to bribe a judge thrown out" and to have his "record cleared."
But the House Oversight Committee says it obtained bank records revealing that after Langston lost his appeal, his company, Langston Law Firm Consulting Inc., began making payments, totaling more than $200,000, to James and Sara Biden directly, and to their entity, Lion Hall Group.
The committee says it is "interested in the nature and purpose of these payments, which totaled $187,000 while Joe Biden was serving as vice president."
HUNTER BIDEN BUSINESS ASSOCIATE ROB WALKER SAYS JOE BIDEN WAS 'NEVER INVOLVED' IN BUSINESS DEALINGS
House Republicans hope the witnesses can provide information on whether, among other things, Joe Biden, as vice president and/or president, "took any official action or effected any change in government policy because of money or other things of value provided to himself or his family, including whether concerns that Chinese sources may release additional evidence about their business relationships with the Biden family have had any impact on official acts performed by President Biden or U.S. foreign policy; abused his office of public trust by providing foreign interests with access to him and his office in exchange for payments to his family or him; or abused his office of public trust by knowingly participating in a scheme to enrich himself or his family by giving foreign interests the impression that they would receive access to him and his office in exchange for payments to his family or him."
Langston’s testimony comes after Hunter Biden business associates like Eric Schwerin, Rob Walker and Mervyn Yan all appeared for their own transcribed interviews before the committee. Their testimony was sought by House Republicans as part of the House impeachment inquiry against President Biden.
So far, Yan, Walker and Schwerin have testified that they were not aware of any involvement President Biden had in his son’s business dealings.
Langston’s expected testimony comes ahead of a deposition of President Biden’s brother, James Biden’s, which is scheduled for Feb. 21. The committees subpoenaed Biden last year.
Hunter Biden defied his subpoena to appear for a deposition Dec. 13 and was at risk of being held in contempt of Congress.
His attorneys and the committees came to an agreement earlier this month that the first son will appear for a closed-door deposition Feb. 28.
New York Republican calls on Hochul, Adams to denounce Biden’s border policy amid migrant crisis in Big Apple
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.
"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.