Some members of the public and Congress alike varied on their opinions about the proposed impeachment of Security Secretary Alejandro N. Mayorkas. However, California Republican Rep. Tom McClintock was far from confused.
While Congress and many Republicans voted to impeach him, McClintock deliberately tanked their efforts by voting no. From several reports, he has his reasons and made them public.
He told The Times, “It dumbs down the standard of impeachment to a point where it will become a constant fixture in our national life every time the White House is held by one party and the Congress by another.”
“That’s exactly what the American Founders feared, and that’s why they were very careful to specify narrow limits to its use.” The votes ended up as 214-216, with the majority voting against the secretary’s impeachment. This set the House Republicans back as they have been pushing for his impeachment since they got control of Congress.
ALSO READ: Republicans Release Articles of Impeachment Against Mayorkas Amid Growing Southern Border Crisis
This is because they blame him for the current migration crisis in the country. They also blame him for ending immigration policies that Trump’s administration put in place and for enacting new immigration policies under President Biden.
Furthermore, they believe he has breached public trust by failing to enforce the immigration laws of the country. However, McClintock believes that disagreement over a policy is not enough to use the greatest punishment Congress can impose.
He is famous for breaking from his fellow Republicans in matters he truly doesn’t believe in. “I’ve learned over the years, if you’re going to be an outlier, you better be damn sure you’re right, and I took the time, and I’m damn sure I’m right,” he said.
The conservative from Elk Grove also put out a 10-page memo explaining his stance just before the impeachment failed. He cited his reasons, saying the impeachment “fails to identify an impeachable crime that Mayorkas has committed.”’
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It also stretches and distorts “the Constitution in order to hold the administration accountable for stretching and distorting the law.” According to McClintock, the new laws and more funding will not help the situation. Instead, Americans need to give Republicans control of the government.
“This problem will not be fixed by passing bills that won’t be signed or laws that won’t be enforced, or funds that will be used only to admit illegal aliens and not to expel them,” he said. “And it won’t be fixed by replacing one left-wing official with another.”
As expected, he faced criticism from some of his fellow Republicans like Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene. “He’s failing his oath of office. He needs to grow some courage and read the room,” she said. “The room is our country, and the American people are fed up…. He needs to do the right thing.”
ALSO READ: House Lawmakers Set to Vote on Impeaching Mayorkas Over Border Security Concerns
About a day later, McClintock responded saying, “Instead of reading the room, I would suggest that maybe she read the Constitution that she took an oath to support and defend,” he said of Greene.
“The Constitution very clearly lays out the grounds for impeachment. This dumbs down those grounds dramatically and would set a precedent that [they could turn] against the conservatives on the Supreme Court or a future Republican administration the moment the Democrats take control of the Congress.”
Furthermore, Speaker Mike Johnson has not given up on his quest to impeach the secretary. “We will pass those articles of impeachment. We’ll do it on the next round,” he said.
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