Last week, MAGA House Republicans failed to impeach Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas by a single vote. Despite a year of failed investigations into Secretary Mayorkas, Chairman Green and the Homeland Security Committee have failed to find any evidence of high crimes or misdemeanors. House Republicans have decided they haven’t wasted enough time already on this political stunt and are planning on voting again this week on the articles of impeachment – once again without any evidence for impeachment.
Instead of focusing on the real issues that matter to Americans like the economy and health care costs, MAGA Republicans wasted the past year on this baseless impeachment inquiry and claiming to be concerned about the border despite refusing to even consider a bipartisan agreement from the Senate. Only three House Republicans were willing to break from their party and admit that there were no grounds for impeachment. The rest of them continued to do Trump’s bidding. Here’s what we heard from states across the country:
Editorials
California
The Orange County Register (Editorial): California’s Republican House delegation could use a constitutional lesson from Rep. Tom McClintock. “But McClintock was precisely right in remarks on the House floor about why the impeachment notion was a bad one: Members of presidential cabinets ‘can be impeached for committing a crime relating to their office, but not for carrying out presidential policy.’ That simple fact is all Americans need to know about why this impeachment effort was a bad idea, an idle display of politics for politics’ sake, a waste of time and effort that had nothing to do with good governance.” [The Orange County Register, 2/9/24]
New York
Times Union (Editorial): A failure of leadership. “It’s tempting to describe the chaos that Republicans keep instigating in Congress as a comedy of errors. But the breathtaking scope of the dysfunction, and the national and international consequences of it, are far too serious — even deadly — for amusement. The country is at the mercy of a party that simply refuses to govern in any meaningful way. In both the House and Senate, Republican officials dodge crisis after crisis in a shameless and shameful attempt to gain an edge for themselves and their presumptive presidential nominee in the November election.” [Times Union, 2/11/24]
New York Daily News (Editorial): The Constitution wins: The bogus impeachment of Alejandro Mayorkas collapses. “What saved the Congress from an unjustified impeachment charade was not any good sense on behalf of Johnson or his deluded, Trump-infected Republican conference, but three GOP congressmen who broke from the pack and did right by the Constitution and the country. Tom McClintock of California, Mike Gallagher from Wisconsin and Colorado’s Ken Buck (who is not running for reelection) upheld their oath of office and refused to go along with the nutso plan of crackpot Marjorie Taylor Greene that Mayorkas had somehow committed ‘Treason, Bribery, or other high Crimes and Misdemeanors.’ […] We are profoundly disappointed that there were only three out of 218 who see that. None of the supposed moderates or mainstream Republicans from New York, like freshmen Nick LaLota, Anthony D’Esposito, Mike Lawler, Marc Molinaro and Brandon Williams, had the guts or the backbone to act with honor. They all lined up with Greene.” [New York Daily News, 2/7/24]
Ohio
The Toledo Blade (Editorial): Latta, nix impeachment. “The attempted — and failed — impeachment of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas was not a good look for the U.S. House of Representatives. If the United States survives the reign of error of current majority Republicans, this attempt to impeach a cabinet secretary over differences in policy will be remembered as a low point in American history. The vote, 214-216 defeated the impeachment resolution. Our thanks to three Republicans who stood tall and called out this political hatchet job for what it was.” [The Toledo Blade, 2/9/24]
Texas
AMI Media Texas (Editorial): Congress has cheapened weight of impeachment; they need to cut it out. “Congress members should stop this petty misuse of a vital governmental process. Instead of wasting their time — and taxpayers’ money — on this silly impeachment game, they should spend that time debating real immigration reform and giving Mayorkas a legal blueprint of the actions he and this country should pursue. Alejandro Mayorkas is simply trying to do his job, despite roadblocks imposed by the very Congress members who say he isn’t. Those lawmakers need to do theirs, and try to enact reasonable, workable and humane immigration policy.” [MyRGV, 2/7/24]
Wisconsin
Kenosha News (Editorial): OUR VIEW: Mike Gallagher showed courage, leadership in rejecting impeachment. “If the politicians of either party want to win policy debates, they need to convince voters to elect them to the White House and legislative majorities. What they shouldn’t do is short-circuit the will of the people based on accusations that don’t come close to the standards for removal the Constitution demands. Gallagher got it right. His House colleagues should get back to the difficult work of governing, rather than continuing to play political games that diminish our democracy.” [Kenosha News, 2/11/24]