The House of Representatives let Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas off the hook for the border crisis created under his watch in a historic 216-214 vote against impeachment.
Reps. Ken Buck (R-CO) and Tom McClintock (R-CA) announced before the vote they would vote against impeachment. They were joined by Rep. Mike Gallagher (R-WI) in voting with unified Democrats.
After the vote was decided, Rep. Blake Moore (R-UT) voted nay, but only for procedural reasons so that the House may vote on the measure again at some point.
Rep. Ken Buck (R-CO) on Jan. 30, 2019. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik)
Gallagher expressed concerns with impeachment Tuesday morning in a closed-door Republican Conference meeting.
Buck, who announced last year this would be his final term and has openly expressed a desire to work for msnbc or CNN, and McClintock, who last year told Breitbart News Daily he believes the impeachment is unconstitutional, were seen as immovable.
Rep. Tom McClintock (R-CA) on September 20, 2023. (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)
Despite arm twisting on the House floor by multiple members of Republican leadership and senior members, Gallagher also cast his ballot with Democrats.
Rep. Mike Gallagher (R-WI) on June 15, 2023. (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)
Moore, who remarkably serves as a member of House leadership, cast his vote against impeachment at the last second, minutes after the previous final vote and moments before the gavel crashed down.
Rep. Blake Moore (R-UT)
Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA), who led calls to impeach Mayorkas for over a year, insisted that Mayorkas’s refusal to follow laws and alleged lying to Congress was clear grounds for impeachment.
“My Democrat colleagues argue that one cannot be impeached for policy differences,” Greene said on the House floor Tuesday. “Well, I argue that breaking our laws is more than just policy differences.”
Refusing to comply with the laws of the United States is more than just "policy differences."@RepMTG lays out some of the consequences of Secretary Mayorkas' refusal to comply with those laws, and his breach of public trust. pic.twitter.com/RwMhDXr0Ar
— House Homeland GOP (@HomelandGOP) February 6, 2024
The defeat is the latest for Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA), who inherited a slim majority that has been decimated further by the ejection of Rep. George Santos (R-NY), early retirement of Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-CA), and, temporarily, the absence of Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-LA), who is recovering from cancer.
Rep. Mike Johnson (R-LA) on October 24, 2023. (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)
Johnson may bring the impeachment resolution to the floor again as soon as tomorrow but has not announced his plans.
Editor’s Correction: This article was updated to note that Rep. Blake Moore (R-UT), who supports impeachment, voted nay after the vote was decided for procedural reasons.
Bradley Jaye is a Capitol Hill Correspondent for Breitbart News. Follow him on X/Twitter at @BradleyAJaye.
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