The House of Representatives’ Republican Conference does not yet appear to have enough votes to impeach Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, those House members still deciding how they will vote told the Daily Caller News Foundation.
Mayorkas, who oversees immigration and border security, has been heavily criticized throughout the Biden administration for allegedly permitting high numbers of foreign nationals to illegally enter and remain in the United States, with the number of such encounters exceeding 6.2 million since President Joe Biden took office.
After the House Homeland Security Committee marked up two articles of impeachment against Mayorkas on Wednesday, several House Republicans indicated that they haven’t decided about whether to support them.
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“I’m going to review the documents now that the committee has taken their vote,” Republican Rep. Patrick McHenry of North Carolina told the DCNF as he exited the Speaker’s Lobby of the Capitol on Wednesday. Pressed on whether he’d made a final decision, McHenry, who is not seeking reelection, repeated: “I’m reviewing the documents.”
The House Republican Conference currently has a slim majority of three seats following multiple departures from the body in the 118th Congress due to resignations and expulsions of members. Amid expectedly unanimous opposition from House Democrats, the dissent of a few Republicans could prevent the articles from being passed.
“I got to see if the bill comes to the floor first,” said Republican Rep. Greg Pence of Indiana, the brother of former Vice President Mike Pence and another retiring member, to the DCNF.
Republican Rep. Dan Newhouse of Washington, meanwhile, told reporters that he’s “still looking” at the articles after being asked about whether he supports them.
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Should these members, and potentially others, end up opposing the articles of impeachment against Mayorkas, it is likely that they would fail on the House floor if they are brought to a vote. At least one Republican, retiring Rep. Ken Buck of Colorado, has said that he will not support Mayorkas’ impeachment. Their combined opposition would bring a vote on the articles to 215-216, failing by one vote.
Some Republicans, meanwhile, appear to have changed their minds upon reading the articles as prepared by the Homeland Security Committee. “I’m supportive. I don’t love the language, but it’s good enough to send a message to the President that we expect him to do what he has been lying about doing,” said Republican Rep. Darrell Issa of California to the DCNF.
The slim majority, coupled with these defections, has led supporters of the effort to cast doubt on its success.
“I haven’t spoken to everybody and, [even] then we have a very slim majority…I think the vast majority will probably vote for it,” said Republican Rep. Carlos Gimenez of Florida. “But the vast majority doesn’t mean anything because we need them all.”
“Every member needs to come to the conclusion on their own,” said Republican Rep. Marc Molinaro of New York to the DCNF outside the House chamber. Molinaro supports Mayorkas’ impeachment.
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“I hope we can pass it,” said Republican Rep. Bob Good of Virginia, the chairman of the House Freedom Caucus, to the DCNF.
“Policy differences are not grounds for impeachment,” said a spokesperson from the Department of Homeland Security on background to the DCNF. “This baseless attack is completely without merit and a harmful distraction from our critical national security priorities.”
House Speaker Mike Johnson and Majority Whip Tom Emmer’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
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