Key occasions
In his opening assertion, Bennie Thompson, the highest Democrat on the committee, in contrast the Republicans’ allegations in opposition to Alejandro Mayorkas to “throwing spaghetti on the wall and seeing what sticks”.
“It is a horrible day for the committee, the USA structure and our nice nation. Republican members of Congress, sworn to help and defend the structure, are rejecting the framers’ clear intent, and over two centuries of precedent in favor of a sham impeachment,” Thompson stated.
He then went on to name out the homeland safety committee’s rightwing members for ginning up costs in opposition to the secretary:
The sham impeachment of Secretary Mayorkas is a baseless political stunt by excessive Maga Republicans. Chairman Inexperienced, consultant (Marjorie) Taylor Greene and others have pushed for, and even fundraised, primarily based on this preplanned, predetermined scapegoating of the secretary in a course of akin to throwing spaghetti on the wall and seeing what sticks. Republicans have cooked up obscure, unprecedented grounds to question secretary Mayorkas refusal to observe the legislation and a breach of public belief.
Inexperienced opened the listening to with an assault on Mayorkas.
“We’re right here right this moment not as a result of we wish to be, however as a result of now we have exhausted all different choices, and our responsibility as members of Congress compels us to train our constitutional responsibility and defend this separate however equal department of presidency,” the Tennessee Republican stated.
He went on:
Firstly of this Congress, every of us took an oath to help and defend the structure of the USA in opposition to all enemies, international and home, and that we might properly and faithfully discharge the duties of the workplace. That is similar oath I took a few years in the past within the military. A number of of you additionally took the identical oath in your service to this nation.
Homeland safety secretary Alejandro Mayorkas took the same oath, however he has not lived as much as it. He has willfully and systematically refused to adjust to the legal guidelines handed by Congress and breached the belief of Congress and the American individuals. The outcomes have been catastrophic, and have endangered the lives and livelihoods of all Individuals.
Homeland safety committee begins Mayorkas impeachment listening to
Republican chairman Mark Inexperienced simply gaveled within the Home homeland safety committee’s listening to into the articles of impeachment in opposition to Alejandro Mayorkas.
Inexperienced is giving his opening assertion proper now.
Over the weekend, a Republican former homeland safety secretary got here out in opposition to the impeachment of Alejandro Mayorkas.
“Political and coverage disagreements aren’t impeachable offenses,” Michael Chertoff wrote within the Wall Road Journal. “The Structure offers Congress the ability to question federal officers for treason, bribery and ‘different excessive Crimes and Misdemeanors.’ That’s a excessive bar. Within the historical past of our republic, just one cupboard secretary has been impeached (for receiving corrupt kickback funds).”
He continued:
As homeland safety secretary below President George W. Bush —and as a former federal decide, U.S. lawyer and assistant lawyer normal — I can say with confidence that, for all of the investigating that the Home Committee on Homeland Safety has achieved, they’ve didn’t put forth proof that meets the bar.
For this reason Republicans aren’t searching for to carry Mr. Mayorkas to the Structure’s ‘excessive crimes and misdemeanors’ normal for impeachment. They make the unsupported argument that he’s derelict in his responsibility.
Alejandro Mayorkas isn’t anticipated to attend the Home homeland safety committee’s markup right this moment of the article of impeachment in opposition to him.
The listening to seems set to be a debate over the allegations among the many panel’s Republican majority and Democratic minority. Mayorkas nonetheless despatched the committee’s chair, Mark Inexperienced, a letter this morning, during which he aired a variety of grievances in regards to the course of. Amongst them, the homeland safety says the panel’s lawmakers have already made up their minds in regards to the costs, and turned down a proposal from him to testify:
On January 5, 2024, you despatched a letter to me requesting that I once more seem earlier than the Home Homeland Safety Committee to supply testimony. I’ve testified earlier than this Committee seven instances. I agreed to testify once more and requested to work along with your workers to determine a mutually agreeable date. You didn’t reply to my request, modified course, and as an alternative invited me to submit written testimony. Two days later, you issued a press release representing that each member of the Committee’s majority already had rendered their determination. I respectfully submit this letter in response.
Inexperienced launched his personal assertion this morning, the place he stated: “Secretary Mayorkas’ Eleventh-hour response to the Committee is insufficient and unbecoming of a Cupboard secretary. Our investigation has established that Secretary Mayorkas has willfully and systemically refused to adjust to the legal guidelines of the USA and breached the general public belief.”
Mayorkas not the one goal of Home impeachment marketing campaign
It’s not simply the homeland safety chief Alejandro Mayorkas that Home Republicans are going after.
The occasion can also be contemplating impeaching Joe Biden for alleged corruption, however that effort seems to be on the backburner in the intervening time, maybe as a result of lawmakers haven’t turned up any proof of their allegations. Final month, Republicans held a vote on the Home flooring to authorize the investigation, months after a disastrous listening to during which their very own witnesses stated they didn’t know if the president broke the legislation. It’s unclear when the Home GOP’s subsequent transfer will happen.
Each the Biden and Mayorkas impeachments undergo from the identical drawback: uncertainty over whether or not the GOP has the votes within the Home to question each males. Regardless, any impeachment article despatched to the Senate are anticipated to shortly be rejected by the chamber’s Democratic majority, which has proven no signal of eager to convict their very own president, or his deputies.
Homeland safety chief Mayorkas decries ‘false accusations’ as Republicans kick off impeachment bid
Good morning, US politics weblog readers. Home Republicans are lastly following by on their much-discussed push to question the homeland safety secretary, Alejandro Mayorkas, who they blame for mishandling safety on the southern border. Starting at 10am ET, the Home homeland safety committee will think about two articles of impeachment in opposition to Mayorkas, and, assuming they approve them, a vote by the total Home of Representatives might come subsequent week.
That is unlikely to be a course of that leads to Mayorkas shedding his job. Impeachments of cupboard secretaries are uncommon, and even when the Home approves the costs, the Democratic-controlled Senate has proven little interest in pursuing his conviction. In a seven-page letter to the committee’s Republican chair, Mark Inexperienced, launched right this moment, Mayorkas defended his dealing with of the surge in migrants arriving from Mexico, and advised Inexperienced that his “false accusations don’t rattle me”. In the meantime, we’re nonetheless ready for the small print of a legislative compromise to tighten immigration coverage in a approach that would cut back the variety of migrants coming into the nation, which Republicans say they need handed in trade for his or her votes for assist to Ukraine and Israel, although it’s unclear if even that will likely be sufficient.
Right here’s what else is occurring right this moment:
-
Joe Biden is heading to Miami and Jupiter, Florida, for 2 marketing campaign occasions in what Democrats as soon as thought to be a swing state, however the place the occasion has been ailing for the previous few years.
-
Mike Pompeo, the previous secretary of state below Donald Trump, and Leon Panetta, the previous protection secretary below Barack Obama, will testify earlier than a Home committee investigating the Chinese language Communist occasion.
-
A mysterious subpoena introduced yesterday by the Home clerk considerations a Democratic lawmaker who allegedly misused authorities cash, Punchbowl News reports. They didn’t say who the lawmaker is.
