House impeaches Homeland Security secretary over border
What happened
Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas this week became the first sitting Cabinet head to be impeached since 1876, after Republicans mustered a one-vote winning margin. Every House Democrat and three Republicans—Mike Gallagher of Wisconsin, Ken Buck of Colorado, and Tom McClintock of California—voted against impeaching Mayorkas. But the return of Majority Leader Steve Scalise from cancer treatment reversed last week’s embarrassing defeat of the charges. The Senate will now consider whether to convict Mayorkas on charges of “willful and systemic refusal to comply with the law” and “breach of trust” related to his handling of immigration at the U.S.-Mexico border, where there were an estimated 3.1 million attempted crossings in 2023, with a record 250,000 arrests for illegal crossings in December.
Mayorkas, 64, called the impeachment “baseless” and criticized Republicans for derailing a bipartisan border security bill, saying “Congress is the only one who can fix this.” Yet polls indicate that surging migration is among President Biden’s biggest campaign liabilities, and Rep. French Hill (R-Ark.) seemed to acknowledge this calculation by saying Mayorkas was paying a “public relations price.” Conviction is all but impossible in the Senate, where 17 Democrats would need to join Republicans to get a two-thirds vote to oust Mayorkas. Majority Leader Charles Schumer called the effort a “sham” and “a new low” for House Republicans, while President Biden accused the GOP of playing “petty political games,” saying, “History will not look kindly on House Republicans for their blatant act of unconstitutional partisanship.”
What the columnists said
Impeachment was designed for “treason, bribery, or other high crimes and misdemeanors,” not to “make a crime out of a policy disagreement,” said David Firestone in The New York Times. Even during the most heated times in our history, the House treated impeachment as a “sacred” power meant for only the most severe offenses. The Senate could “dismiss this nonsensical act without a trial,” or, fearing political fallout, “bury the impeachment resolution in a committee.” Regardless, “the latest stain on the House will not be removed.”
“‘High Crimes and Misdemeanors’ are, in practice, whatever Congress says they are,” said Charles C.W. Cooke in National Review. By that definition, “failure to execute the laws” past a point might be an impeachable offense. Still, Mayorkas is “the wrong target of Congress’ ire.” Since there’s “no evidence whatsoever” that he is defying the president’s will, “it is Biden who must be held accountable. Anything less is theater.”
The Republicans are set on punishing every party member who has had the “courage” to oppose this travesty, said Dana Milbank in The Washington Post. Gallagher, who dissented in both votes, warned his colleagues of what might happen if they “pry open the Pandora’s box of perpetual impeachment.” In response, Republicans mobbed him on the House floor, crudely insulted him, and screamed in his face. After enduring that “abuse,” Gallagher surprised Washington by announcing he won’t seek re-election. This party is inhospitable to anyone with a spine.