Republicans Turn on Their Own After Mayorkas Impeachment Fail

Republicans are turning against their own after three of their colleagues joined House Democrats to derail the impeachment of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas.

Representatives Ken Buck, Mike Gallagher and Tom McClintock broke with their party Tuesday night to vote against impeaching Mayorkas, handing the House GOP a stunning defeat. GOP Representative Blake Moore switched his vote to "no" in a last-minute move that pushed the final vote against impeachment to 216-214. House Republicans will be able to bring up the vote again.

GOP Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene, who has been leading the impeachment push against Mayorkas, put those four names on blast shortly after the vote in a post on X (formerly Twitter).

"The 3 no votes against impeaching Mayorkas were: Mike Gallagher (WI-08) Tom McClintock (CA-05) Ken Buck (CO-04)," Greene wrote. "Blake Moore changed his vote no when asked by leadership for procedural reasons to make a motion to reconsider so that we can vote on impeachment again next week. We look forward to Leader Steve Scalise returning to vote yes and officially impeaching Secretary Mayorkas."

Several conservatives replied to Greene's post, calling for the end of Gallagher's, McClintock's and Buck's political careers and for the Republican Party to cut off all funding to the three lawmakers.

Conservative commentator Ann Coulter responded to a tweet that criticized House Republicans for fumbling the vote, clarifying that it was "not the GOP, but 3 Republicans, Ken Buck (CO), Mike Gallagher (Wi) and Tom McClintock (CA). Were they dropped on their heads as kids?"

Donald Trump–aligned strategist Alex Bruesewitz called on House Speaker Mike Johnson to remove Gallagher from his position as the chair of the House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party, accusing the Wisconsin Republican of compromising his ability to lead the panel with his vote on Mayorkas.

"THOUSANDS of Chinese nationals are INVADING our nation because of the Biden-Mayorkas open border policies. Mike Gallagher just voted against impeaching @SecMayorkas," Bruesewitz said. "He is unfit to serve in that role — CLEARLY COMPROMISED!

But while Republicans may be enraged by the GOP defectors, political consultant Alex Patton told Newsweek that the House GOP, with its narrow majority, cannot afford to lose any more of its members, meaning conservatives can't threaten to remove those Republicans over their impeachment vote.

"This Congress with such a slim majority cannot afford to lose a single member, and the talk of expelling members is likely people letting off steam after their humiliation yesterday and/or people trying to carry favor with former President Trump," Patton said. "The talk of expulsion is nothing more than nonsense but completely on brand for this Congress."

House Republicans have struggled to get enough votes on their legislative priorities given their razor-thin majority. The GOP can only afford to lose three votes on any party-line measure, assuming full attendance.

Their efforts to impeach Mayorkas come as lawmakers have felt growing pressure to hold the Biden administration accountable for the U.S.-Mexico border crisis. No Cabinet member has been impeached since 1876.

Gallagher pushed back on the criticisms on Wednesday, saying that while he commends and respects Homeland Security Committee Chairman Representative Mark Green, he had told the party he would vote against impeachment "for over a month" and did not spring it on them as a surprise.

He also criticized GOP leadership for rushing the vote when they knew they wouldn't have the numbers.