House Republicans finally achieved their cherished goal of impeaching one of President Biden’s cabinet secretaries on Tuesday night. Republicans chose Alejandro Mayorkas, the homeland security secretary, largely to inflame the immigration issue, which binds together their base and even appeals to swing voters and some Democrats. But the very nature of the impeachment vote demonstrated the atrocious flimsiness of their case and their contempt for constitutional standards.
This was the vote that failed a week ago after three brave Republicans stood up to their party and said Mayorkas had done nothing worthy of impeachment. That constitutional provision is reserved for treason, bribery and high crimes and misdemeanors, they said, and was never intended to make a crime out of a policy disagreement.
Those three Republicans once again did the right thing on Tuesday, but the impeachment vote succeeded this time only because one member who was absent last week, Steve Scalise of Louisiana, showed up.
So this momentous act — the first impeachment of a sitting cabinet officer in American history — passed by only a single-vote margin, 214 to 213. (There were two absences on each side.) Republican leaders also had to squeeze in the vote before the outcome was known in Tuesday’s New York special House election, because a Democratic winner could cancel out Scalise’s vote.
This impeachment was an utterly partisan and deeply dishonest act that debases the House’s role in the structure of the Constitution. It forever shatters a barrier that was considered sacred by previous Houses, which took their responsibility seriously and did not use impeachment for political purposes.
The Senate could very well dismiss this nonsensical act without a trial, and it should do so promptly. But an immediate dismissal would require a majority vote, and inevitably some nervous Democrats with tough elections ahead won’t want to be seen as supporting Mayorkas. So it’s also possible that Senate Democrats will bury the impeachment resolution in a committee until after the November election.
But no matter how deeply the Senate buries it, the latest stain on the House will not be removed.
This was the vote that failed a week ago after three brave Republicans stood up to their party and said Mayorkas had done nothing worthy of impeachment. That constitutional provision is reserved for treason, bribery and high crimes and misdemeanors, they said, and was never intended to make a crime out of a policy disagreement.
Those three Republicans once again did the right thing on Tuesday, but the impeachment vote succeeded this time only because one member who was absent last week, Steve Scalise of Louisiana, showed up.
So this momentous act — the first impeachment of a sitting cabinet officer in American history — passed by only a single-vote margin, 214 to 213. (There were two absences on each side.) Republican leaders also had to squeeze in the vote before the outcome was known in Tuesday’s New York special House election, because a Democratic winner could cancel out Scalise’s vote.
This impeachment was an utterly partisan and deeply dishonest act that debases the House’s role in the structure of the Constitution. It forever shatters a barrier that was considered sacred by previous Houses, which took their responsibility seriously and did not use impeachment for political purposes.
The Senate could very well dismiss this nonsensical act without a trial, and it should do so promptly. But an immediate dismissal would require a majority vote, and inevitably some nervous Democrats with tough elections ahead won’t want to be seen as supporting Mayorkas. So it’s also possible that Senate Democrats will bury the impeachment resolution in a committee until after the November election.
But no matter how deeply the Senate buries it, the latest stain on the House will not be removed.
