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January 10, 2024

ICYMI: Extreme MAGA Republican Impeachment Hearing “Falls Flat” as GOP Members Admit No Evidence of High Crimes or Misdemeanors

(WASHINGTON) – Today, Rep. Bennie G. Thompson (D-MS), Ranking Member of the Committee on Homeland Security, released the below statement after the Republicans held their so-called first official impeachment hearing of Secretary Mayorkas:

“Today’s hearing has confirmed what we already knew: this so-called impeachment is nothing more than a thinly veiled political stunt. Committee Republicans have failed to make a case for impeachment, failed to understand the Constitution, and failed to do anything to address challenges at the border. No amount of yelling, finger pointing, or faux righteous indignation can change this. Today’s hearing was nothing more than Republican rehash.

“Attempting to impeach the Secretary over policy differences, instead of working with Democrats on immigration and border policy reform, demonstrates that Republicans are only interested in using border security as a political talking point. Democrats will continue calling out this sham impeachment for what it is: a political stunt.”

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT, see below national news coverage of the hearing highlighting the MAJOR problems for Republicans’ impeachment claims:

New York Times:

  • “G.O.P. Opens Mayorkas Impeachment Push With No Evidence of High Crimes”
  • “House Republicans on Wednesday kicked off formal impeachment hearings against Alejandro N. Mayorkas, the homeland security secretary, accusing him of willfully failing to enforce immigration laws even as leading constitutional experts said there was no basis to do so.”
  • “But Republicans have struggled to make the case that their policy complaints are enough to support charges of high crimes and misdemeanors.”

Politico:

  • “The GOP's move to impeach Mayorkas without evidence of criminal or other improper activity beyond its policy dispute with him is unprecedented.”

Punchbowl News:

  • “Homeland’s first Mayorkas impeachment hearing falls flat”
  • “[T]the Senate split screen couldn’t be more stark. Senate GOP negotiators are trying to cobble together a border and immigration deal with Mayorkas as House Republicans try to oust him from office.”

Associated Press:

  • “Going after an official for a policy dispute, in this instance over the claim that Mayorkas is not upholding immigration laws, is unprecedented.”

ABC News:

  • “Republicans rehash familiar talking points in the DHS Secretary Mayorkas impeachment hearing”
  • “Republicans have not identified a specific high crime or misdemeanor that Mayorkas committed. Chairman Green appeared to acknowledge as much.”

Washington Post:

  • “Neither [House Republicans] nor their witnesses have provided evidence of impeachable offenses.”
  • “Immigration experts who testified before Congress over the past year have also poked holes in the GOP’s thesis that Mayorkas has committed high crimes and misdemeanors by failing to uphold the law, arguing that insufficient resources at DHS have historically prevented any administration from completely executing some laws pertaining to immigration and the border.

HuffPost:

  • “The hearing itself was a stunt. The standard for impeachment, per the Constitution, is committing “high crimes and misdemeanors” like treason or bribery. Mayorkas, a cabinet secretary charged with carrying out immigration laws, as broken as they may be, has not been accused of any such crimes.”

USA Today:

  • “Impeaching a cabinet official is already extremely rare in U.S. history and has only happened once. The House impeached Defense Secretary William Belknap over charges of bribery in 1876 but the Senate later acquitted him. The move from House Republicans to impeach Mayorkas over a policy dispute is additionally unprecedented.”

NBC News:

  • "House Republicans leading impeachment hearings for Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas were met Wednesday with skepticism and fierce backlash from Democrats and legal experts, who claim there is no legal basis for impeaching him."

  • "In the past year, Republicans have attempted to cut funding for the border in an attempt to protest Biden’s policies, and have not agreed to a supplemental funding request for more Border Patrol agents and expanded migrant detention capacity. Democrats on the committee said they should be spending their time solving the problems at the border rather than having more hearings criticizing Mayorkas."

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