Impeachment of Mayorkas was Republicans’ attempt to distract
Somewhere in a closet lies a yellowing newspaper headlined “IMPEACHED: Clinton ‘indelibly stained’ by decisive vote.” The impeachment vote on
Dec. 19, 1998, felt like an unqualified victory as glorious as the president’s actions were scandalous.
As a Capitol Hill staffer, I not only saved the paper, I had the impeachment managers sign it. Unfortunately, the use of this uncommon form of censure had an unforeseen consequence that this 28-year-old staffer could not have foreseen; impeachment would become more commonplace and no longer reserved just for high crimes and misdemeanors. This week, the standard was lowered yet again.
Before Clinton hung his head in shame, no president had been impeached under Article II of the Constitution for “Treason, Bribery, or other high Crimes and Misdemeanors” in 130 years. Nixon likely would have been, but he resigned before the House could vote. That winter day in 1998, five Democrats joined 223 Republicans to impeach the president for lying under oath and obstructing justice over an affair with an intern.
Between the adoption of the Constitution and Clinton’s stained presidency, only 16 men, mostly judges, were impeached mainly for lying, favoritism, drunkenness, and abusing contempt of court charges. Unlike impeachment, which requires a simple majority vote in the House, conviction requires a twothirds vote in the Senate. Only eight were ultimately convicted in the Senate, two resigned, and the rest were found not guilty. Clinton was acquitted on both accounts, 55-45 and 50-50, respectively.
Was Clinton guilty of high crimes and misdemeanors? The Constitution provides no definition and a reasonable case can be made either way. However, there can be little doubt that once the provision was used, it would be used again. A few years into George W. Bush’s presidency, Democrats introduced 35 articles of impeachment entirely over policy disagreements. They never got out of committee. Likewise an effort to impeach President Barack Obama also foundered.
This week, however, an impeachment over policy succeeded. House Republicans impeached Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas over his ineffective handling of the southern border. That’s policy, not perjury. And if Congressional Republicans want to impeach officials over policy, perhaps they should start with each other. A week ago, they refused to entertain a bipartisan compromise painstakingly crafted in the Senate that would have stemmed the tide of migrants over the border.
Their shameless dog and pony show will likely continue until Election Day. Republicans have also introduced legislation to impeach Vice President Kamala Harris, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, Attorney General Merrick Garland, and FBI Director Christopher Wray. Fortunately, the Senate has more substantive things to do than join in the partisan charade.
Colorado’s 4th District Rep. Ken Buck was one of three Republicans who voted no. In his words, “poor job performance is not an impeachable offense.” Congress has other oversight tools, including funding and legislation to improve agency performance.
Buck added: “Baseless impeachments that fall far short of the Constitution’s requirements undermine the rule of law, which is the very accusation Republicans have correctly leveled at the president and Secretary Mayorkas. In constitutional law, there is no allowance for the kind of retribution on display with the GOP’S protests, which amounts to: ‘But the Democrats impeached Trump first!’” Buck is correct.
It is also worth noting that Trump was not impeached for policy but for corrupt and contemptable violations of his oath of office. Congress impeached President Trump in 2019 for abuse of power and obstruction of Congress. He had attempted to cajole Ukrainian President Zelensky into announcing an investigation of Trump’s likely opponent in the 2020 presidential race and to make unsubstantiated allegations that Ukrainian actors had interfered in the 2016 election. The vote was strictly partisan; reasonable people can argue whether a crooked phone call arises to the level of high crimes.
The second time, however, 10 Republicans joined Democrats to impeach President Donald Trump for incitement of insurrection, a clear violation of the oath of office and a danger to our democracy. The Senate’s 57-43 bipartisan vote, however, failed to clear the two-thirds threshold.
Whether Republicans impeached Mayorkas out of retribution for Trump’s impeachments, to get media attention, or to fool their base into thinking they’re working on the border crisis, they will regret this escalation in tactics. The next Democratic majority will remember how this Congress further weaponized impeachment and will wield that partisan cudgel against Republican cabinet members, staff, judges, and even justices.