A House Republican is coming out against the impeachment of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas.
During an appearance on MSNBC Thursday, Rep. Ken Buck (R-Colo.) addressed the effort to impeach Mayorkas over the situation at the southern border, and his decision to oppose the move.
“This is a not a high crime or misdemeanor. It’s not an impeachable offense. This is a policy difference,” Buck said.
He admitted “there is a crisis on the border,” and said, “The law needs to be enforced.”
However, Buck added, “If we start going down this path of impeachment with a Cabinet official, we are opening a door as Republicans that we don’t want to open. The next president who is a Republican will face the same scrutiny from Democrats. It’s wrong and we should not set this precedent.”
Watch the video below:
Republican Rep. Ken Buck on why he's voting against Mayorkas impeachment: "This is a not a high crime or misdemeanor. This is not an impeachable offense. This is a policy difference … it's wrong, and we should not set this precedent." pic.twitter.com/9vGIF5FIfE
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) February 1, 2024
Earlier this week, the House Homeland Security Committee voted 18-15 to advance two articles of impeachment against Mayorkas.Â
The articles accuse the secretary of declining to uphold the law and breaching the public trust for failing to secure the U.S.-Mexico border.
However, the move is not universally supported among conservatives.
The Wall Street Journal’s editorial board poured cold water on the decision.
In a column on Tuesday, the Journal wrote, ” As much as we share the frustration with the Biden border mess, impeaching Mr. Mayorkas won’t change enforcement policy and is a bad precedent that will open the gates to more cabinet impeachments by both parties.”
It added, “The 20-page political indictment certainly is a sorry list of policy failings on Mr. Mayorkas’s watch and their damaging consequences for American cities and states.”
However, the Journal insisted, “Impeaching Mr. Mayorkas won’t have any effect on policy, or even on the politics of border security. Most voters don’t know who Mr. Mayorkas is. Even if the House passes the articles, on a largely partisan vote, there is no chance the Democratic Senate will convict him. Impeaching Mr. Mayorkas would be the political equivalent of a no-confidence vote.”
Instead, it argued Republicans should “strike a deal with Mr. Biden on serious border-security reforms that would restrict his discretion on parole, rewrite the asylum standard, and give the executive other tools to control the border.”
