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Opinion

3 Republicans Break With Party, Side With Dems in Mayorkas Impeachment Vote

House Republicans succeeded in their push to impeach Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas. But the margin of the vote, 214-213, was about as narrow as it could be thanks to three Republican defections. This is…

Bradley Cortright·Feb 14, 2024·3 min read

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House Republicans succeeded in their push to impeach Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas.

But the margin of the vote, 214-213, was about as narrow as it could be thanks to three Republican defections.

This is the second time Republicans tried to impeach the secretary over their issues with his handling of the U.S.-Mexico border as the country has seen record numbers of migrants attempting to cross the border illegally.

House Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-La.) provided the necessary vote as he returned to the Capitol after missing last week’s vote due to treatment for blood cancer.

Yet Reps. Mike Gallagher (R-Wis.), Ken Buck (R-Colo.), and Tom McClintock (R-Calif.), who helped sink the first vote, also voted against impeachment on Tuesday.

Certainly, these representatives will receive fury from those who think Mayorkas deserved to be impeached.

However, they took a principled stand. Republicans’ push did not meet the Constitutional standard of “Treason, Bribery, or other high Crimes and Misdemeanors” for impeachment.

Mayorkas is following President Joe Biden’s directive in how to handle the border, and thus he is enacting a policy Republicans disagree with. But there is no chance the Mayorkas would be convicted in the Democrat-controlled Senate.

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Even if he was removed, you know who gets to replace the secretary? Biden. And the chances are high Democrats would confirm his replacement, and nothing would change.

Nothing, that is, except for the use of the impeachment process. The idea of using impeachment essentially as a vote of no confidence was rejected with the acquittal of President Andrew Johnson in the 1860s. And since then, it has been seen as an emergency process to be used in response to the most severe and egregious offenses.

Republicans may think using it to express their disapproval will work to their benefit for the next year, but there will come a time when Democrats control the House while there is a Republican president and decide to use impeachment to harass and abuse their Cabinet officials over simple policy differences.

Such behavior would only serve to cheapen the impeachment process and increase dysfunction in Congress and the executive branch.

Republicans like to talk about being the party of law and order and the Constitution. And they have good reasons to be vexed by Mayorkas’ handling of the border.

But if they truly want to uphold the Constitution, they should not follow Democrats’ example of impeachment. They should be the party that listens to the Constitution when it says the standard for impeachment is “Treason, Bribery, or other high Crimes and Misdemeanors,” and they should uphold that high bar to ensure impeachment is used for its intended purposes.

3 Republicans Break With Party, Side With Dems in Mayorkas Impeachment Vote — IJR