MTG reintroduces motion to impeach Mayorkas, forcing House vote by end of week

Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) reintroduced a privileged motion to impeach Homeland Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, forcing leadership to bring the motion up for a vote sometime before the end of this week.

The effort comes just weeks after the House voted to table a similar motion to impeach the Biden administration official, which accused Mayorkas of failing to maintain “operational control” of United States borders which has led to an influx of illegal immigration and the flow of fentanyl across the southern border. That motion was shot down after eight Republicans joined all Democrats in opposing the measure, instead referring the matter to the Homeland Security Committee.

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“The eight Republicans that voted with the Democrats to protect Mayorkas’s job and send the articles of impeachment back to committee, they found out from their districts that they made the wrong move,” Greene said. “The eight Republicans that voted with the Democrats claimed that they wanted it to follow proper House procedure and go through the committee. But my articles of impeachment had been sitting in committee for over six months, and they’ve been basically sitting there collecting dust not being picked up.”

Greene said she hasn’t spoken to the eight who voted against her initial resolution but said she believes, based on phone calls her office received, that the lawmakers heard from constituents while they were home from Thanksgiving expressing frustration at their opposition. The Georgia Republican also expressed frustration toward House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA), noting the two have not discussed her efforts to impeach Mayorkas since he assumed the top leadership position last month.

Greene again filed the motion as a privileged resolution, forcing GOP leadership to bring it up for a vote within two legislative days. It’s unclear when House leaders will call for a vote, but rules dictate it must come to the floor before lawmakers adjourn for the weekend on Friday.

The impeachment resolution introduces one charge that alleges Mayorkas violated his constitutional duties since taking office in February 2021.

Greene cites a number of federal statutes in the resolution, such as the Secure Fence Act of 2006, which requires Mayorkas to maintain operational control of the border, and the Guarantee Clause, which requires him to “protect each of the States from invasion.” The Georgia Republican cited reports that show more than 10 million illegal immigrants have come into the country during his tenure, including the admittance of “terrorists, human traffickers, drugs, and other contraband.”

The 10 million number referenced in the resolution combines 8 million encounters at the southern border with another 1.8 million “gotaways,” or immigrants who managed to evade U.S. border officials and remain in the country to this day. The remaining number of immigrants includes individuals from Iran, Afghanistan, Syria, Egypt, Turkey, and other countries.

The resolution also accuses Mayorkas of failing to stop the flow of fentanyl across the southern border, citing reports that Customs and Border Protection seized approximately 11,200 pounds of fentanyl during fiscal 2021 and another 14,700 pounds the following year.

The Department of Homeland Security has repeatedly pushed back against the resolution, arguing policy differences are not grounds for impeachment. A spokesperson for the department told the Washington Examiner earlier this month the U.S. immigration system has been broken for decades, arguing only Congress can pass legislation to fix it.

“Instead of continuing their reckless impeachment charades and attacks on law enforcement, Congress should work with us to keep our country safe, build on the progress DHS is making, and deliver desperately needed reforms for our broken immigration system that only legislation can fix,” the spokesperson said.

The latest effort comes amid a monthslong push by Greene to remove the top border official from his post over accusations Mayorkas has violated his constitutional duty to protect the U.S. borders, which has led to an influx of illegal immigration and the flow of fentanyl across the southern border.

The Georgia Republican filed articles of impeachment against the homeland security official earlier this year, but that legislation failed to garner much momentum in the lower chamber, prompting Greene to file the latest two articles as privileged.

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However, Greene said on Wednesday she would continue introducing the resolution and forcing votes on his impeachment as many times as it takes.

“I’ll keep reintroducing it because he should be impeached,” she said.