All posts tagged: Mayorkas

George Santos’ replacement and Mayorkas impeachment: Morning Rundown

George Santos’ replacement and Mayorkas impeachment: Morning Rundown

Published by skeptic

Democrats win back disgraced former Rep. George Santos’ seat. A verdict in Donald Trump’s civil fraud case is expected this week. And scientists are worried as Greenland gets greener. Here’s what to know today. What we learned from the special election to replace George Santos New York’s 3rd District has a new leader: former Democratic congressman Tom Suozzi, who defeated Republican Mazi Pilip in a special election yesterday. The race to replace disgraced former Rep. George Santos played out over only a matter of weeks but might indicate what’s to come in Congress and in other elections nationally. Immigration played a big role in the campaign in its final days. Republicans hammered Suozzi on being a tool of the left-wing “squad.” Suozzi fought back directly against the GOP’s attacks, acknowledging the migrant influx and pointing out that Pilip had rejected a recent bipartisan deal to toughen border and asylum laws while he endorsed it. Suozzi’s willingness to address thorny issues could be an effective strategy for Democrats moving forward.  Suozzi’s victory narrowed Republicans’ majority in the …

California Dem misses close Mayorkas impeachment vote due to COVID-19

California Dem misses close Mayorkas impeachment vote due to COVID-19

Published by skeptic

Rep. Judy Chu (D-Calif.) was absent from the House vote to impeach Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas Tuesday evening due to testing positive with COVID-19. “Unfortunately, I recently tested positive for COVID-19 and am isolating in accordance with CDC guidelines. Today, I was unable to be on the Floor to vote once again against impeaching Secretary Mayorkas,” Chu said in a statement. In a narrow 214-213 vote on Tuesday, House Republicans succeeded in impeaching Mayorkas after failing to do so last week in a stunning vote. If Chu had been there to cast her vote against impeaching Mayorkas, the House vote would have likely led to a tie as three Republicans had sided with Democrats to vote against the articles on Tuesday. House Republicans were able to succeed in their vote to impeach Mayorkas with the return of House Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-La.), who missed last week’s vote since he was being treated for blood cancer. A tie in a House vote means that the “question shall be lost,” according to the House rules. Chu slammed the move to …

US House votes to impeach Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas

US House votes to impeach Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas

Published by skeptic

The House had initially launched an impeachment inquiry into President Joe Biden over his son’s business dealings, but instead turned its attention to Mr Mayorkas after Trump ally Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia pushed the debate forward following the panel’s months-long investigation. The charges against Mr Mayorkas would next go to the Senate for a trial, but neither Democratic nor Republican senators have shown interest in the matter and it may be indefinitely shelved to a committee. Border security has shot to the top of campaign issues, with Donald Trump, the Republican front-runner for the presidential nomination, insisting he will launch “the largest domestic deportation operation in American history” if he retakes the White House. Various House Republicans have prepared legislation to begin deporting migrants who were temporarily allowed into the US under the Biden administration’s policies, many as they await adjudication of asylum claims. “We have no choice,” Mr Trump said in stark language at a weekend rally in South Carolina. At the same time, Mr Johnson rejected a bipartisan Senate border security …

US House impeaches homeland security chief Mayorkas over border policies

US House impeaches homeland security chief Mayorkas over border policies

Published by Sam

Republicans impeached US President Joe Biden’s immigration chief on Tuesday, the culmination of months of attacks on the Democratic administration as they seek to make border security a key issue in November’s election. Issued on: 14/02/2024 – 01:34 3 min Conservatives in the House of Representatives, which is narrowly controlled by Republicans, blame Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas for a surge in illegal entries from Mexico that they have called a “humanitarian catastrophe.” Lawmakers passed two articles accusing him of “willful and systemic refusal” to enforce immigration law and “breach of public trust” — making him the first Cabinet secretary to be impeached in nearly 150 years. It was Republican leaders’ second swing at Mayorkas after they botched a first impeachment effort last week by wrongly anticipating how many lawmakers would be present on each side and losing by just one vote. Tuesday’s re-run was just as close, but the return of Republican House Majority Leader Steve Scalise, who had been receiving cancer treatment, swung the chamber the other way in a 214-213 vote. “Next …

House Republicans impeach Homeland Security Secretary Mayorkas

House Republicans impeach Homeland Security Secretary Mayorkas

Published by skeptic

U.S. Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas holds a press conference at a U.S. Border Patrol station on January 08, 2024 in Eagle Pass, Texas. John Moore | Getty Images House Republicans on Tuesday impeached Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, the second time in American history that a Cabinet member has been impeached. By a final tally of 214-213, the House approved two articles of impeachment against Mayorkas, alleging that he intentionally violated federal immigration laws and blocked congressional oversight of the Homeland Security Department. Mayorkas will now face trial in the Democrat-controlled Senate where it is all but certain he will be acquitted. “History will not look kindly on House Republicans for their blatant act of unconstitutional partisanship that has targeted an honorable public servant in order to play petty political games,” President Joe Biden said in a statement following the vote. The White House has repeatedly condemned the impeachment effort over the past year, calling it a political distraction by Republicans, who refused $20 billion of border security funding in a bipartisan …

House votes to impeach Homeland Security Secretary Mayorkas

House votes to impeach Homeland Security Secretary Mayorkas

Published by skeptic

The House has voted along party lines to impeach Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas. The Senate is not expected to convict him or expel him from office. Patrick T. Fallon/AFP via Getty Images hide caption toggle caption Patrick T. Fallon/AFP via Getty Images The House has voted along party lines to impeach Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas. The Senate is not expected to convict him or expel him from office. Patrick T. Fallon/AFP via Getty Images The House of Representatives has voted 214-213 to impeach Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas for “willful and systemic refusal to comply with the law” in enforcing border policy and “breach public trust.” Three Republicans voted with all Democrats against the impeachment. Mayorkas is the first cabinet member to be impeached since William Belknap, secretary of war under President Ulysses S. Grant, in 1876. It is highly unlikely that he will be convicted in the Senate or removed from office. Mia Ehrenberg, a DHS spokesperson, said in a statement that the impeachment was done “without a shred of evidence or …

House GOP will try again to impeach Mayorkas after failing once

House GOP will try again to impeach Mayorkas after failing once

Published by skeptic

WASHINGTON (AP) — Having failed to impeach Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas the first time, House Republicans are determined to try again Tuesday, but it’s not at all certain the do-over vote will produce a better tally after last week’s politically embarrassing setback. The evening vote is expected to be tight with Speaker Mike Johnson’s threadbare GOP majority unable to handle many defectors or absences in the face of staunch Democratic opposition to impeaching Mayorkas, the first Cabinet secretary facing charges in nearly 150 years. Despite the expected arrival of Majority Leader Steve Scalise, who will bolster the GOP numbers after being away from Washington for cancer care, even one other missing or weather-delayed lawmaker could imperil the Mayorkas impeachment. If the vote pushes later into the week, the outcome of Tuesday’s special election in New York to replace ousted Rep. George Santos could tip the balance further. Johnson posted a fists-clenched photo with Scalise, announcing his remission from cancer, saying, “looking forward to having him back in the trenches this week!” The GOP effort …

Homeland Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas Calls Allegations “Baseless” Ahead of Second Impeachment Vote Expected Tuesday

Homeland Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas Calls Allegations “Baseless” Ahead of Second Impeachment Vote Expected Tuesday

Published by skeptic

Facing a second impeachment vote this week, Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas denounced the GOP’s accusations against him and claimed that only Congress can fix what he described as a “crisis” on the U.S.-Mexico border. “They’re baseless allegations, and that’s why I’m not really distracted by them,” Mayorkas said in a Sunday interview with NBC’s Kristen Welker, who asked the Homeland Secretary about impeachment articles accusing him of “wilfully not following the laws” regulating immigration. House Republicans failed to muster enough votes to impeach Mayorkas last Tuesday, falling just a single vote short. (One of the three Republicans who voted against the measure, Wisconsin Representative Mike Gallagher, announced Saturday that he was not seeking re-election. His vote against impeachment had already earned him a primary challenger.) The 216-214 tally—which was later adjusted to a tie after Utah Representative Blake Moore changed his vote—was a stunning embarrassment for House Speaker Mike Johnson, who admitted that the vote’s failure “was a setback” but vowed to bring the articles to a vote again. This time around, Republicans …

Republicans schedule another Alejandro Mayorkas impeachment vote

Republicans schedule another Alejandro Mayorkas impeachment vote

Published by skeptic

WASHINGTON — The House is expected to vote again on an effort to impeach Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas after an attempt by Republicans this week fell short. House Majority Leader Steve Scalise, R-La., on Friday indicated that the second impeachment vote would come on Tuesday night. Mayorkas survived the first attempt in a 214-216 vote this week. Republicans are seeking to oust Mayorkas over his handling of the U.S.-Mexico border. All Democrats and three Republicans — Reps. Ken Buck of Colorado, Tom McClintock of California and Mike Gallagher of Wisconsin — voted against impeachment on Tuesday. Rep. Blake Moore, R-Utah, the vice chair of the GOP conference, also rejected the measure, but only to allow Republicans to bring up the bill again under procedural rules. Scalise is expected to return to Washington next week after undergoing treatment for blood cancer. His absence was among the reasons Republicans fell short in Tuesday’s vote. With Scalise’s support, and if all members are present and voting, House Republicans can afford to lose three votes on the impeachment resolution. …