House Democrats, with the help of a eight Republicans, voted down an effort led by GOP Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene in the House of Representatives to impeach Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas in a straight up or down vote.
The eight Republicans who joined Democrats in the 209-201 vote killing the effort included Reps. Ken Buck, R-Colo., Darrell Issa, R-Calif., Tom McClintock, R-Calif., Patrick McHenry, R-N.C., John Duarte, R-Calif., Virginia Foxx, R-N.C., Cliff Bentz, R-Ore., and Mike Turner, R-Ohio.
Additionally, 11 Democrats and 12 Republicans did not vote on the measure.
Greene voiced her displeasure in a video posted on X, saying that the eight Republicans voted to “protect” Mayorkas from impeachment, which she called, “unbelievable.”
HOUSE HOMELAND SECURITY GOP REPORT ACCUSES MAYORKAS OF CEDING BORDER CONTROL TO CARTELS
Pictured from left to right: Rep. Virginia Foxx, R-N.C., Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, and Rep. Darrell Issa, R-Calif. (Getty Images)
“We had eight Republicans vote with the Democrats to send my articles of impeachment back to committee where articles of impeachment go to die,” Greene said.
Rep. McClintock’s office directed Fox News Digital to a press release explaining that the “grounds for impeachment are explicitly laid out in the Constitution” and that the allegations against Mayorkas do not meet the threshold even though Mayorkas is “the worst cabinet secretary in American history.”
“Yes, Alejandro Mayorkas must be held accountable for his egregious failures – there’s no doubt about that. By giving the Judiciary Committee, under the leadership of Chairman Jordan, the opportunity to conduct a full-scale impeachment inquiry the right way, House Republicans are fulfilling the commitments we made to the American people and rising to a level that Democrats could never do,” Rep. Foxx said in a press release after her vote.
“Secretary Mayorkas has not committed an impeachable offense,” Rep. Buck told CNN on Monday night. “I disagree strongly with how he’s handling the border, I think the border is porous, I think it’s a threat to this country, but it’s not a high crime or misdemeanor, it’s not treason, it’s not bribery, it’s not the crimes or issues our founders set forth in the Constitution.”
Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas speaks at a news conference on Wednesday, May 10, 2023, ahead of the lifting of Title 42. (AP Photo/Kevin Wolf)
In a statement to Fox News Digital, Rep. Turner denied that Republicans voted to “kill” an impeachment and that the motion was referred to the Committee on Homeland Security for proper fact finding.
“No one voted to kill an impeachment inquiry – there is currently an ongoing investigation into Secretary Mayorkas in the House of Representatives. Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene’s resolution was referred to the ongoing Homeland Security Committee’s investigation under Chairman Mark Green,” Turner said. “When his investigation is complete, he can at any time refer fully documented Articles of Impeachment to the House, which will pass overwhelmingly.”
Rep. Issa released a statement saying that Mayorkas “deserves to face an impeachment trial” and posted on social media that he “can’t wait to testify.”
“I will be requesting my opportunity to testify before the committee and make my case why Sec. Mayorkas is the worst to ever hold his job and why impeachment would be a fitting punishment,” Issa said.
Greene introduced the resolution to impeach Mayorkas on Thursday, which would have forced a vote on impeachment without a hearing or a committee markup. If voted on and passed, it would have sent his impeachment straight to the Senate for trial.
A family of five claiming to be from Guatemala and a man stating he was from Peru walk through the desert after crossing the border wall in the Tucson Sector of the U.S.-Mexico border, Tuesday, Aug. 29, 2023. (AP Photo/Matt York)
The Department of Homeland Security responded to the vote with a statement accusing Congress of “wasting time,” and calling on it to “do its job by funding the government, reforming our broken immigration system, reauthorizing vital tools for DHS, and passing the Administration’s supplemental request to properly resource the Department’s critical work to stop fentanyl and further secure our borders.”
Mayorkas has faced intense scrutiny from Republicans over his record, which includes presiding over record levels of illegal immigration that includes more than 600,000 “gotaways” at the southern border in fiscal year 2023 and over 900,000 illegal immigrants released into the interior of the United States by the Border Patrol in FY 2023.
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Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene. (Fox News Digital/ Jon Michael Raasch)
“The fact is he’s just not living up to his oath,” GOP Rep. Anthony D’Esposito told Fox News Digital in June. “Not only is he failing the administration, he is failing the American people. And that’s my biggest concern.”
Fox News Digital’s Brandon Gillespie and Chad Pergram contributed to this report
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