AOC Says Republican Reaction to Mayorkas Impeachment Failure is 'Laughable'

Democratic Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York says that the Republican response to the failed House vote to impeach Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas is "laughable."

Republicans suffered a stunning failure after Speaker of the House Mike Johnson brought the Mayorkas impeachment resolution to the House floor for a vote on Tuesday. Democrats, including Ocasio-Cortez, argued that the impeachment effort was meritless.

The resolution, which accuses Mayorkas of ignoring immigration laws and making "false statements" about the U.S.-Mexico border, failed by a vote of 214 to 216. House Republicans responded to the embarrassment both by turning on each other and denouncing Democrats.

Representative Majorie Taylor Greene of Georgia claimed that Democrats "hid" Texas Congressman Al Green, who voted against the resolution in hospital clothing following abdominal surgery, as part of an effort to deceive Republicans.

During an interview with MSNBC's Chris Hayes on Wednesday night, Ocasio-Cortez mocked Johnson as being "not quite up to the standard that we usually see" and the only speaker Republicans "could get" after ousting former Speaker Kevin McCarthy. She then set her sights on Greene's claim of Democratic trickery.

"The fact that they think Democrats owe it to Republicans to give them ... our attendance counts ... is laughable," Ocasio-Cortez said. "It really speaks to the fact that you're working with people who are not used to being in this chamber."

"If you didn't expect Al Green to be doing that," she added, "then you don't know who Representative Al Green is. He will do that."

Newsweek reached out for comment to the offices of Johnson and Greene via email late on Wednesday.

Johnson has insisted that he is not to blame for the failed vote, telling reporters on Wednesday that failure was instead the result of "messy sausage making" occurring "in a time of divided government."

"I don't think that this is a reflection on the leader, I think this is a reflection on the body itself," Johnson said. "The nation is divided, we lament that. The difference is the chasm between the two parties right now is wider than it's ever been and there's lots of emotions."

"Last night was a setback, but democracy is messy," he added. "We're governing here, sometimes it's messy ... you're seeing the messy sausage making ... it's not always pretty, but the job will be done at the end of the day."

House Republicans may attempt to impeach Mayorkas again in the coming days, with Greene saying on social media shortly after the vote that she was looking "forward to Leader Steve Scalise returning to vote yes and officially impeaching Secretary Mayorkas."

Although Ocasio-Cortez did not directly name Greene during her MSNBC appearance, the two congresswomen are ideological opposites who have previously locked horns on more than one occasion.