A former Republican strategist has branded the impeachment of Alejandro Mayorkas "ridiculous" following a historic vote in the House.
Susan Del Percio told MSNBC the historic vote, in which the Republican-led chamber narrowly voted 214 to 213 for the measure, will "show just how ridiculous the House is acting."
The Context
Mayorkas became the first Cabinet secretary to be impeached since Secretary of War William Belknap in 1876 in a narrow vote President Joe Biden has called a "political stunt."
Republicans accused Mayorkas of a "willful and systemic refusal to comply with the law" and a "breach of public trust" in his handling of the border crisis.
What We Know
The House voted 214-213 in favor of impeachment after a vote failed 214 to 216 a week earlier.
Del Percio, a former adviser to New York Governor Andrew Cuomo, said: "They're trying to impeach someone who's trying to improve our border security. We can disagree by the means, but there was a bipartisan deal on the table."
The GOP-led House struck down the bill in the Senate on February 7, with conservative hardliners arguing the legislation does not go far enough in its efforts to end illegal immigration.
Views
In a statement, Biden slammed House Republicans for an act of "unconstitutional partisanship" and "petty political games."
He added that the impeachment was "baseless."
House Speaker Mike Johnson said Mayorkas' impeachment was in fact a " careful and methodical approach" and reiterated he felt the secretary had "refused to comply with federal immigration laws."
A number of prominent Republicans in Congress' lower chamber agreed, including Colorado Rep. Lauren Boebert. Boebert called on the Senate " to take this up and remove this man from office."
Department of Homeland Security spokesperson Mia Ehrenberg said Republicans in the House would "be remembered by history for trampling on the Constitution for political gain."
She added: "House Republicans have falsely smeared a dedicated public servant who has spent more than 20 years enforcing our laws and serving our country... Secretary Mayorkas and the Department of Homeland Security will continue working every day to keep Americans safe."
What's Next?
The development means Mayorkas will face an impeachment trial in the Senate, where a two-thirds vote is required to convict and remove the Homeland Security secretary from office. This is unlikely in the Democrat-led Senate.
Impeachment articles are due to be presented to the upper chamber on February 26.
Biden called for the House to pass the bipartisan border security bill drawn up in the Senate.
Without a deal passed, many Americans are likely to continue to see the border issue as important. A Reuters/IPSOS poll of 1,019 U.S. adults indicated in January that around 17 percent of respondents saw the border as the most important issue in the country.
This was up from 11 percent in a similar poll in December.
Among Republicans, the border was the most important issue, with 36 percent calling it their main concern.
Uncommon Knowledge
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Benjamin Lynch is a Newsweek reporter based in London, U.K. His focus is U.S. politics and national affairs and he ... Read more
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