The House of Representatives failed to impeach Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas on Tuesday due to absences and defections.
There were some doubts about whether Republicans would have the votes to impeach Mayorkas. They could only afford to lose three votes, and Reps. Ken Buck (R-Colo.) and Tom McClintock (R-Calif.) had previously indicated that they intended to vote against impeachment. House Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-La.) was absent because he is undergoing cancer treatment.
The House vote was 214-216. Rep. Mike Gallagher (R-Wisc.) joined Buck and McClintock in voting with Democrats against the resolution.
House GOP Majority Whip Tom Emmer (R-Minn.) had expressed confidence that Republicans had the votes to impeach Mayorkas.
“We’re whipping Republican votes,” Emmer told CNN. “I’m confident we are going to pass it.”
The articles of impeachment accused Mayorkas of violating his oath to support and defend the Constitution of the United States.
"Throughout his tenure as Secretary of Homeland Security, Alejandro N. Mayorkas has repeatedly violated laws enacted by Congress regarding immigration and border security," the impeachment resolution read. "In large part because of his unlawful conduct, millions of aliens have illegally entered the United States on an annual basis with many unlawfully remaining in the United States. His refusal to obey the law is not only an offense against the separation of powers in the Constitution of the United States, it also threatens our national security and has had a dire impact on communities across the country."
Related: Democrats Lowered the Bar for Impeachment Years Ago
The resolution continued, "Despite clear evidence that his willful and systemic refusal to comply with the law has significantly contributed to unprecedented levels of illegal entrants, the increased control of the Southwest border by drug cartels, and the imposition of enormous costs on States and localities affected by the influx of aliens, Alejandro N. Mayorkas has continued in his refusal to comply with the law, and thereby acted to the grave detriment of the interests of the United States."
The resolution also noted that Mayorkas "knowingly made false statements and knowingly obstructed lawful oversight of the Department of Homeland Security [...] principally to obfuscate the results of his willful and systemic refusal to comply with the law."
Even if impeachment had succeeded, a conviction in the Senate wasn't likely to happen. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) refused to commit to even holding a trial. "Let's see what the House does,” he said last week.
"House Republicans have failed to present any evidence of anything resembling an impeachable offense," he said in a floor speech last week. "Abusing the Constitution by pursuing this sham impeachment effort is a new, ignominious low."
Just as the Democrats say there was no need to impeach Mayorkas, they also say there’s “no evidence” for impeaching Joe Biden. They have also been claiming for months that there has been no evidence that Biden was involved in or profited from Hunter Biden’s foreign business deals, despite a trove of evidence, including eyewitness and whistleblower testimony to White House logs, bank records, text messages, and more.
Join the conversation as a VIP Member