Donald Trump's Secretary of Defense, Mark Esper, broke with Republicans after the House voted to impeach Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas on Tuesday.
"The border is a crisis, it's a mess, everybody knows it, including a lot of Democrats, but this is President [Joe] Biden's policy, not Mayorkas's policy, and so if you want change, you gotta change who's in the White House," Esper said Wednesday on CNN This Morning.
"I do not like the precedent of impeaching, doing this because it will become a tit-for-tat, and we need to avoid that type of stuff," Esper added.
The context:
On Tuesday evening, House Republicans voted 214-213 to impeach Mayorkas, citing issues with the U.S.-Mexico border.
Republican Representatives Ken Buck, Mike Gallagher and Tom McClintock sided with Democrats in voting against the measure.
House Republicans failed in their vote to impeach Mayorkas last week. House Majority Leader Steve Scalise returned to Congress this week after receiving treatment for cancer, and his vote helped Republicans vote in favor of removing the DHS secretary.
In a statement to Newsweek, DHS spokesperson Mia Ehrenberg said: "House Republicans will be remembered by history for trampling on the Constitution for political gain rather than working to solve the serious challenges at our border. While Secretary Mayorkas was helping a group of Republican and Democratic Senators develop bipartisan solutions to strengthen border security and get needed resources for enforcement, House Republicans have wasted months with this baseless, unconstitutional impeachment."
"Secretary Mayorkas and the Department of Homeland Security will continue working every day to keep Americans safe," the statement added.
What we know:
Last month, House Republicans brought the articles of impeachment against Mayorkas amid their continued criticism of the handling of the United States-Mexico border.
"In large part because of his unlawful conduct, millions of aliens have illegally entered the United States on an annual basis with many unlawfully remaining in the United States," the articles of impeachment said.
The articles also accused Mayorkas of lying to Congress by stating that the border was "secure."
Views:
In a statement posted on X, formerly Twitter, House Speaker Mike Johnson said: "Alejandro Mayorkas deserves to be impeached, and Congress has a constitutional obligation to do so. Next to a declaration of war, impeachment is arguably the most serious authority given to the House and we have treated this matter accordingly."
Buck, who voted no to the impeachment, told CNN's OutFront on Tuesday night, "I know what a high crime and misdemeanor are, and I know that this doesn't qualify. This is a policy difference."
"This is a terrible impeachment. It sets a terrible precedent. The first impeachment of Donald Trump was a bad impeachment. And we've got to stop this in this body, or we are going to lose our credibility with the– further lose our credibility with you, the American public," Buck said.
What's next:
The articles of impeachment will be sent to the Senate in the coming days, where they will be voted on.
In a statement on Tuesday, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said the Senate will receive the impeachment articles on February 26.
"The House impeachment managers will present the articles of impeachment to the Senate following the state work period...Senators will be sworn in as jurors in the trial the next day. Senate President Pro Tempore Patty Murray will preside," Schumer's office said.
Update 2/14/24, 8:11 a.m. ET: This article was updated with additional information and to note that Newsweek reached out to the Department of Homeland Security for comment.
Update 2/14/24, 8:31 a.m. ET: This article was updated with additional information.
Update 2/14/24, 9:23 a.m. ET: This article was updated with a statement from the DHS.
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Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
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