Surprise, surprise: The GOP is once again engaging in disingenuous tactics regarding impeachment.
Just a few years after vehemently opposing the impeachment of then-President Trump and labeling it a “witch hunt” (only to repeat the same cries later), Republicans are now pushing for the blatantly partisan impeachment of Secretary of Homeland Security, Alejandro Mayorkas. The House is poised to vote on this matter for the second time in a week, showing the persistence of the GOP’s efforts.
However, there’s a glaring issue: They still haven’t provided a coherent explanation of how Mayorkas has violated his constitutional duties.
Republican Representative French Hill recently revealed the party’s overtly political motivations behind Mayorkas’s impeachment during a panel hosted by Fox News’s Maria Bartiromo.
Hill outlined the case against Mayorkas, or rather the lack thereof, stating, “We need to shut the border… The president could take executive action to do it today—doesn’t need more money. It needs action, and this is what’s disappointing to people, and that’s why Mayorkas is gonna pay this public relations price by being impeached for the first time since 1876.”
GOP Rep. French Hill to Maria Bartiromo: "This is disappointing to people and that's why Mayorkas will pay this public relations price by being impeached for the first time since 1876."
So impeachment is a PR tool now. Got it. pic.twitter.com/vD5D00vTwE
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) February 13, 2024
Conspicuously absent from Hill’s remarks was any mention of specific high crimes or misdemeanors committed by Mayorkas. Hill essentially acknowledged that the impeachment serves as a means for Republicans to target Mayorkas as a symbol of their opposition to President Biden and his immigration policies, despite the absence of impeachable offenses.
By referencing “1876,” Hill alluded to the last instance of a Cabinet member’s impeachment when Secretary of War William Belknap was acquitted. However, last week marked the most recent attempt to impeach a Cabinet member, wherein House Speaker Mike Johnson failed to secure enough votes to impeach Mayorkas, with three members of his own party voting against the effort.
Two of these Republicans, Representatives Ken Buck and Tom McClintock, opposed the impeachment on the grounds that it was a political farce and a violation of the Constitution. There is currently no indication that they will change their stance in the upcoming vote.
House Republicans have been discussing impeaching Mayorkas since the tenure of Johnson’s predecessor, Kevin McCarthy, who also pledged to do so. However, then and now, the glaring issue remains: They lack a coherent rationale for their actions. Yet, this hasn’t deterred them before, and it appears it won’t now.
One might expect Republicans to approach their second attempt more seriously. However, openly revealing their partisan motives suggests otherwise.
