Eight Republican Votes, Eleven Absences Doom Mayorkas Impeachment Resolution

(Photos: Alex Wong/Getty Images; Wikimedia Commons; BNN)
Alex Wong/Getty Images; Wikimedia Commons; BNN
Bradley Jaye

Eight Republicans crossed over to vote with Democrats, and eleven Republicans missed the vote on Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene’s (R-GA) resolution to impeach Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas Monday night, dooming it by a 209-201 vote.

Rep. Marjorie Taylor-Greene, R-Ga., calls for impeaching Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, during a news conference on Capitol Hill, Wednesday, Feb. 1, 2023, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

Rep. Marjorie Taylor-Greene, R-Ga., calls for impeaching Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, during a news conference on Capitol Hill, Wednesday, Feb. 1, 2023, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

The vote to send the resolution to the House Committee on Homeland Security effectively kills the resolution, as the committee continues its almost year-long hearings on the border crisis that have yet to yield articles of impeachment for its primary architect.

Members Voting to Table the Resolution:

Rep. Cliff Bentz (R-OR)

Bentz took to twitter Tuesday afternoon to attack Mayorkas’s record, saying he wants to “impeach AND convict the guy, not just impeach.” He argued that not going through the “regular order committee process” gives the Senate a political out.

Rep. Ken Buck (R-CO)

“Gross incompetence is not grounds for impeachment,” reads a Buck thread on X. “The impeachment process is a solemn constitutional mechanism reserved for cases of high crimes and misdemeanors. It is not a tool to address policy disagreements or negligence.”

Greene felt otherwise, laying out when introducing her resolution a myriad of violations she qualifies as “high crimes and misdemeanors” that meet the bar necessary to impeach Mayorkas.

Rep. John Duarte (R-CA)

A statement from Duarte says Congress “cannot afford to be distracted by every impeachment and censure motion introduced by Marjorie Taylor Greene.” He said Congress should focus on funding the government for the next fiscal year – a low bar that is the bare minimum responsibility of Congress.

Interestingly, Duarte says he will defer to the Oversight Committee on whether impeachment will be necessary, despite his vote to send the impeachment resolution to the House Homeland Security Committee.

Before his vote to effectively kill the impeachment resolution, Duarte issued a statement on X touting his endorsement of legislation granting permanent legal status to millions of illegal migrants, calling it his “key legislation this Congress.”

Rep. Virginia Foxx (R-NC)

Foxx says Congress “must impeach Secretary Mayorkas the right way and not like the snap impeachment Democrats concocted against President Trump.” The statement she links to touts “adhering to the principle of regular order” and the ability of the Judiciary Committee to conduct impeachment proceedings, despite her vote Monday night sending the resolution to languish in the Homeland Security Committee.

Rep. Darrell Issa (R-CA)

An Issa statement says Mayorkas “deserves to face an impeachment trial” and includes a request from Issa to testify during a trial. The statement does not discuss Issa’s specific qualifications to serve in such a capacity.

https://issa.house.gov/media/press-releases/issa-mayorkas-must-face-impeachment-trial

Rep. Patrick McHenry (R-NC)

McHenry has not issued a public statement. A request from Breitbart News to his office went unanswered.

Rep. Tom McClintock (R-CA)

McClintock called Mayorkas “the worst cabinet secretary in history” but says he he is simply carrying out Biden’s border policies and is not guilty of “Treason, bribery, or other high crimes and misdemeanors” necessary for impeachment.

“The House made a mockery of impeachment twice during the last session of Congress,” he said. “We must not allow the left to become our teachers.”
Time will tell if Democrats will reverse course to follow McClintock’s standard in the future.

Rep. Mike Turner (R-OH)

Turner provided a statement saying “No one voted to kill an impeachment inquiry – there is currently an ongoing investigation into Secretary Mayorkas in the House of Representatives. Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene’s resolution was referred to the ongoing Homeland Security Committee’s investigation under Chairman Mark Green.

“When his investigation is complete, he can at any time refer fully documented Articles of Impeachment to the House, which will pass overwhelmingly.”

While the Homeland Security Committee has not yet issued articles of impeachment for Mayorkas to the House, it is noteworthy that its chairman, Rep. Mark Green (R-TN), voted against tabling the impeachment resolution.

Members Not Voting

The eleven members who missed Tuesday night’s vote are Reps. Jim Banks (R-IN),  Vern Buchanan (R-FL), Larry Buschon (R-IN), Dan Crenshaw (R-TX), Mike Ezell (R-MS), Pat Fallon (R-TX), Nancy Mace (R-SC), Alex Mooney (R-WV), Greg Pence (R-IN), Maria Salazar (R-FL), and Roger Williams (R-TX).

Banks and Bucshon visited an Indiana National Guard unit deployed in Kenya for Veterans Day. A Banks spokesperson says his return flight was delayed.

Ezell’s absence was due to a death in the family.

Fallon has not issued a statement on missing the vote, however he announced yesterday he would not seek reelection.

Mace issued a statement on X that a family emergency delayed her travel to Washington but that she would have voted to impeach Mayorkas.

Williams issued a statement supporting Mayorkas’s impeachment that did not explain his reasons for missing the vote.

Salazar did not issue a public statement but posted a video clip from a Monday morning CNN interview in which she touts her Dignity Act that “secures our border, gives dignity to the undocumented, and boosts our economy.”

Follow Bradley Jaye on Twitter at @BradleyAJaye.

COMMENTS

Please let us know if you're having issues with commenting.