House GOP launches effort to impeach Homeland Security secretary Los Angeles Times

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In a press conference after the trial, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said he felt "very strongly that we had to set a precedent that impeachment should never be used to settle policy disagreements." "By doing what we just did, we have in effect, ignored the directions of the House, which were to have a trial," said Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell after senators killed the second article. They gave his office until Aug. 23 to provide “all responsive documents” and make personnel available for interviews before lawmakers issue a congressional subpoena.

Antiwar protesters dig in as some schools close encampments after reports of antisemitic activity

When the Secretary attempted to shift the blame to Congress, members reiterated that the Senate has not taken up or passed House Republicans’ H.R.2, the Secure the Border Act, which is the strongest border security legislation passed by Congress in history. If Democrats are unable to dismiss or table the articles, they could follow the precedent of several impeachment trials for federal judges over the last century and hold a vote to create a trial committee that would investigate the charges. While there is sufficient precedent for this approach, Democrats may prefer to end the process completely, especially in a presidential election year when immigration and border security are top issues. The House narrowly voted in February to impeach Mayorkas for his handling of the U.S.-Mexico border. House Republicans charged in two articles of impeachment that Mayorkas has not only refused to enforce existing law but also breached the public trust by lying to Congress and saying the border was secure.

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Full Committee Markup of Fiscal Year 2024 Homeland Security and Legislative Branch Bills - House Appropriations

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The articles charged Mayorkas with willfully ignoring the law and breaching the public's trust. Democrats called the opposition a policy dispute, and said it did not rise to "high crimes and misdemeanors," as required for impeachment. The stunning roll call Tuesday fell just a single vote short of impeaching Mayorkas, stalling the Republicans’ drive to punish the Biden administration over its handling of the U.S-Mexico border.

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Eight Republicans voted in November to put off the final Mayorkas impeachment vote by sending it to committee. And some GOP senators have been caught in a political bind as they try to support, but also distance themselves from, their hard-right colleagues. It remains to be seen if the House investigation will convince lawmakers that Mayorkas’ conduct rises to the level of the “high crimes and misdemeanors” the Constitution specifies for impeachment. With the House GOP’s impeachment inquiry into President Biden, over his son Hunter Biden’s business dealings, lumbering along as lawmakers work to dig up information, the Republicans are sharpening their focus on the border crossings and the investigation of Mayorkas.

Senators struggled with certain differences, particularly over parole programs to allow immigrants who claim asylum entry into the U.S. as they await court proceedings. Reaching a border deal is key to a broader funding package for Ukraine, Israel and other national security needs. The Homeland Security Department released a memo noting that Mayorkas and the bipartisan senators are working hard to find “real solutions” to fix broken immigration laws while the House majority is wasting time on “baseless and pointless political attacks” by trying to impeach him. The committee conducts oversight and handles legislation (and resolutions) related to the security of the United States. It also has the power to hold hearings, conduct investigations, and subpoena witnesses.

House GOP launches effort to impeach Mayorkas, even as senators seek a border deal

While the Senate is obligated to hold a trial under the rules of impeachment once the charges are walked across the Capitol, the proceedings may not last long. Democrats are expected to try to dismiss or table the charges later this week before the full arguments get underway. The second select committee was formed in 2003 at the beginning of the 108th Congress as a select committee with Rep. Christopher Cox of California as its chairman and Jim Turner of Texas as its ranking member. The creation of the committee was necessitated by the creation of the Department of Homeland Security. As an executive branch department, the newly formed Department of Homeland Security required congressional counterparts to facilitate legislative action and oversight.

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Trump as president was twice impeached — first in 2019 on abuse of power over his phone call with the Ukrainian president seeking a favor to dig up dirt on then-rival Biden, and later on the charge of inciting the Jan. 6, 2021 insurrection at the Capitol. At one point, Democratic Rep. Al Green of Texas, who had missed votes earlier in the day, arrived from the hospital to cast his vote against the impeachment. The three Republicans opposing impeachment were Gallagher, Rep. Ken Buck of Colorado and Tom McClintock of California. Republican Rep. Blake Moore of Utah was the Republican who switched his vote on procedural grounds. Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries said the Mayorkas impeachment vote was a stunt designed by Republicans to sow “chaos and confusion” and appease Trump — rather than to govern.

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Additionally, the committee has authorization and policy oversight responsibilities over the Department of Homeland Security. House Homeland Security Committee Chairman Mark Green, R-Tenn., Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., and their fellow Republican impeachment managers walk back through the U.S. Capitol Rotunda after transmitting articles of impeachment against Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas to the Senate on Tuesday. Tuesday’s vote arrived at a politically odd juncture for Mayorkas, who has been negotiating a bipartisan border security package in the Senate, earning high marks from a group of senators involved. At a trial, senators would be forced to sit in their seats for the duration while the House impeachment managers and lawyers representing Mayorkas make their cases. The Senate is allowed to call witnesses, as well, if it so decides, and it can ask questions of both sides after the opening arguments are finished.

Experts have argued that Mayorkas has simply been snared in a policy dispute with Republicans who disapprove of the Biden administration’s approach to the border situation. Even if Republicans are able to impeach Mayorkas, he is not expected to be convicted in a Senate trial since Republican senators have been cool to the effort. The Senate could simply refer the matter to a committee for its own investigation, delaying immediate action.

While the GAO report may show that the Biden Administration has not explicitly broken the law, it does show that DHS and the White House are circumventing the law to shirk executive responsibility and accountability. As per DHS, these massive reductions in illegal immigration are due solely to the construction of physical barriers. The barriers force migrants to go to ports of entry where they can be processed by Customs and Border Protection agents, avoid dangerous cartels, and have the potential to enter the U.S. legally. Information about travel-related expenses incurred by representatives who are reimbursed by non-government sources. Information about certain expenditures for all official foreign travel by representatives and staff.

If the Senate were to proceed to an impeachment trial, it would be the third in five years. Democrats impeached President Trump twice, once over his dealings with Ukraine and a second time in the days after the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol. Some Republicans have said they would like time to debate whether Mayorkas should be impeached, even though debate time is usually not included in impeachment proceedings. Negotiations were underway between the two parties over whether Schumer may allow that time and give senators in both parties a chance to discuss the impeachment before it is dismissed.

Deeply reported insights into legislation, politics and policy from Sacramento, Washington and beyond. House Republicans have released two articles of impeachment against Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas. After Tuesday’s ceremonial procession and presentation of the articles, the proceedings will not begin until Wednesday. Senators will be sworn in as jurors, turning the chamber into the court of impeachment. The Senate will then issue a summons to Mayorkas to inform him of the charges and ask for a written answer. House Republicans are tirelessly working to "Reverse the Curse” of the Democrat agenda, from open border policies to their ambivalence toward the debt crisis. The Budget Committee is fighting for brighter days ahead for all Americans. Click HERE for our FY24-33 Budget Resolution.

"Anytime the House would want to just shut the Senate down, they could send over another impeachment resolution." “Your obstruction of the Committees’ investigations is unacceptable, and your justifications for this noncompliance appear to reflect a fundamental misunderstanding of Congress’s authority and your duties as an Inspector General,” Maloney and Thompson wrote in the letter. Johnson, who could afford only a few defections from his ranks, had said earlier he had personally spoken to Gallagher and another GOP holdout, acknowledging the “heavy, heavy” vote as he sought their support. While most Republicans oppose quick dismissal, some have hinted they could vote with Democrats. The Committee was first formed as a Select, non-permanent Committee to provide Congressional oversight over the development of the Department of Homeland Security. The Committee was made permanent when it was designated as a Standing Committee of the House on January 4, 2005, the first day of the 109th Congress.