Mike Johnson Skirts Blame After Republicans' Tough Day

House Speaker Mike Johnson rejected blame on Wednesday after Republicans faced a tough day in Congress, with a failed vote to impeach Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas and a battle on the bipartisan border security bill.

While speaking to reporters, Johnson was asked how he would respond to critics that the current state of Congress is because of his "inexperience," to which he responded by saying: "I don't think that this is a reflection on the leader, I think this is a reflection on the body itself."

"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," Johnson said. "The process is messy sometimes, but the job will be done."

Newsweek reached out to Johnson's office via email for comment.

The context:

On Tuesday, the GOP-led House failed to impeach Mayorkas in a vote of 214-216.

Four Republicans sided with Democrats to vote against the impeachment, which was prompted by Republican criticism of Mayorkas's handling of the U.S.-Mexico border.

Additionally, it is believed that a bipartisan border security deal will fail in the Senate this week amid criticism from many Republicans, including Johnson.

What we know:

Shortly after the text of the bipartisan border security bill was released, Johnson said it would be "DEAD on arrival in the House."

"We encourage the U.S. Senate to reject it," Johnson said in a joint statement with House Majority Leader Steve Scalise, House Majority Whip Tom Emmer and New York Representative Elise Stefanik.

While speaking with reporters on Wednesday, Johnson further spoke about the failed impeachment vote and said: "Last night was a setback, but Democracy is messy."

"We live in a time of divided government," Johnson said. "We have to hold the secretary of the Department of Homeland Security accountable. Mayorkas needs to be held accountable, the Biden administration needs to be held accountable and we will pass those articles of impeachment."

Johnson continued, "We're governing here, sometimes it's messy...you're seeing the messy sausage making, the process of Democracy play out, and it's not always clean, it's not always pretty, but the job will be done at the end of the day."

Views:

While speaking to reporters on Tuesday, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell spoke about the bipartisan border bill and said, "We had a very robust discussion about whether or not this product could ever become law...And it's been made pretty clear to us by the speaker that it will not become law."

Sawyer Hackett, a Democratic strategist, criticized Johnson's remarks, writing on X: "Speaker Mike Johnson blames the failed impeachment of Sec. Mayorkas on 'people who show up when they're not expected to be in the building.'"

"He's referencing Rep. Al Green, who showed up in a wheelchair from surgery," Hackett added.

What's next:

While it is unclear how the Senate will proceed with the bipartisan border security bill, Senator Kyrsten Sinema, an Arizona Independent, said on Wednesday morning that she believes it is dead.

In regard to the impeachment of Mayorkas, House Republicans are holding out hope that they will be able to bring a vote again in the coming days, with Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene saying on social media: "We look forward to Leader Steve Scalise returning to vote yes and officially impeaching Secretary Mayorkas."

Update 2/7/24, 12:19 p.m. ET: This article was updated with additional information and to reflect that Newsweek reached out to Johnson's office for comment.

Update 2/7/24, 12:47 p.m. ET: This article was updated with additional information.

Update 2/7/24, 3:02 p.m. ET: This article was updated with an X post from Sawyer Hackett.