House Republicans are eager to move forward with plans to impeach Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas, as long as the party’s leadership approves the effort.
Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., introduced an unsuccessful impeachment measure last November, but did so without the approval of House GOP leadership. Eight Republicans voted with Democrats at the time to send the bill to committee, but several of those Republicans told Axios this week they will vote to impeach Mayorkas if their leadership supports the effort.
Rep. John Duarte, R-Calif., told Axios that although he voted against the previous impeachment measure, he would vote “yes, if it comes out of committee. Just not under privileged motions.”
His fellow California Republican, Rep. Darrell Issa, added that he would “vote to recommend Mayorkas be impeached” if it were to come to the floor.
"I've had to manage complex government responsibilities," Rep. Marc Molinaro, R-N.Y., told Axios. "If [Mayorkas] worked for me … and he wouldn't, I'd have fired him."
Rep. Don Bacon, R-Neb., said, ”It's hard to defend the worst leadership we've ever seen at the border.”
Bacon noted that he plans to "weigh the arguments from both sides and go from there.”
CNN reported on Monday there’s a plan by House Republicans to bring forward an impeachment effort through the House Homeland Security Committee instead of the typical House Judiciary Committee, and that this plan has been approved by House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., and other senior members of the GOP.
A Homeland Security spokesperson told Axios: "The House majority is wasting valuable time and taxpayer dollars pursuing a baseless political exercise that has been rejected by members of both parties and already failed on a bipartisan vote.”
They added: "There is no valid basis to impeach Secretary Mayorkas, as senior members of the House majority have attested, and this extreme impeachment push is a harmful distraction from our critical national security priorities."