Several members of the House of Representatives’ Republican conference on Wednesday told the Daily Caller News Foundation that they will seek to impeach Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas for a second time, following the failure of a vote to do so on Tuesday.
The articles of impeachment against Mayorkas failed by a vote of 214 yeas to 216 nays, with four Republicans joining all House Democrats to vote down the effort, which has been championed by House Republicans for months. Those supporters of the effort attributed the failure of the vote to the absence of House Majority Leader Steve Scalise, who is currently receiving treatment for blood cancer, and indicated that they will likely pass the articles of impeachment on a motion to reconsider when he returns next week.
“[The Republican detractors] had a position that they believe in, that’s great. Now we’ll just do it when Steve Scalise comes back,” said House Majority Whip Tom Emmer, who is responsible for securing votes on the floor, to the DCNF on Wednesday.
“We have a close vote, failed on a tie. We’ll win it next week when Scalise is back so don’t worry about the Mayorkas thing,” said House Rules Committee Chairman Tom Cole to the DCNF. “The other guys brought a person out of the hospital. That’s perfectly fine. Nothing wrong with that. We will probably win next week.”
The House of Representatives currently has four vacancies, with three being in previously Republican-held seats, due to resignations and expulsions, with Scalise’s absence bringing the party down to a 1-seat majority in the chamber. This narrow majority was attributed as the reason for the loss by many rank-and-file members.
“We have a narrow majority. Everything’s difficult,” said Republican Rep. Bryan Steil of Wisconsin to the DCNF. “I think we’ll have an opportunity to see…impeachment vote come back before us. I think we’ll pass it.”
“[Mike Johnson’s] going to wind up impeaching Mayorkas as soon as Congressman Scalise comes back,” said Republican Rep. Glenn Grothman of Wisconsin to the DCNF. “Sometimes you got to take chances in this business,” he added, explaining the failed vote on Tuesday.
On Feb. 13, a special election will be held in New York’s 3rd Congressional District, formerly occupied by the now-expelled Republican Rep. George Santos. Should Republican candidate Mazi Melesa Pilip defeat her Democratic rival, former Rep. Tom Suozzi, it would give the party more room for error in a second vote, which some members are banking on to ensure Mayorkas is impeached.
“We’ll get it done next week when Scalise comes back, when we…hopefully win that election and in New York and so I have confidence,” said Republican Rep. Carlos Giménez of Florida to the DCNF.
Some members, however, were unsure as to whether a second impeachment vote was going to occur. “I don’t know what the plan is yet. That just happened last night,” Republican Rep. Celeste Maloy of Utah, the newest member of the body, who assumed office in November of 2023, told the DCNF.
“It was a tied vote. And then…one vote switched. That’s not exactly a resounding defeat. So we’re going to regroup as a conference. I’m sure we’ll all know more in the next week or so,” Maloy noted. “We have, basically, a one-vote majority.”
Arjun Singh on February 7, 2024
