Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) confidently asserts that she deserves full credit for House Republicans advancing with impeachment proceedings against Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas this week. She points to her previous efforts in forcing votes to remove the embattled Cabinet head on two separate occasions last year. Greene firmly believes that her actions have played a significant role in the current developments.
During a phone interview with The Hill on Monday, the Georgia Republican claimed that her previous procedural actions in November served as the driving force behind the upcoming panel vote on articles of impeachment against Mayorkas, which is scheduled to take place on Tuesday.
Greene claimed that the floor vote was a direct result of her own efforts.
According to the congresswoman, she has been credited by Rep. Mark Green (R-Tenn.), the chair of the Homeland Security Committee, for initiating the process in their panel.
The reason why the Homeland Security Committee is responsible for handling Mayorkas’s impeachment is because the House referred Greene’s articles to that panel when she sought to force votes on the matter last year. It should be noted that although impeachment proceedings are usually handled by the Judiciary Committee, the jurisdiction in this case lies with the Homeland Security Committee.
According to Representative Greene, she and her committee have been recognized for their ability to mark up articles of impeachment and plan to hold a vote on it. She acknowledges that the Homeland Committee typically does not have jurisdiction over this matter, as it is usually the responsibility of the Judiciary Committee.
“But I pushed for that floor vote in November, making it clear that I would continue to do so until this issue was taken seriously. As a result, we are finally having a vote on impeachment in the Homeland committee tomorrow. This is the committee where my articles of impeachment were referred after the initial vote, and they would not be there if not for my persistence,” she explained.
Greene celebrates her victory as the Homeland Security Committee prepares to review and discuss two articles of impeachment against Mayorkas on Tuesday.
Republicans on the panel are accusing him of “willfully and systematically refusing to comply with the law.” They claim that the secretary violated immigration laws through Biden administration policies, and they also accuse him of a “breach of trust.” This allegation is based on claims that he did not fulfill his duties, misled Congress, and obstructed its investigation.
According to a recent memo from the Department of Homeland Security, the markup of the impeachment resolution on Tuesday is seen as another instance of political gamesmanship from House Homeland Security Committee Republicans.
The full House is set to vote on the articles if they pass out of committee on Tuesday. This would be a historic event, as it would mark only the second time in history that a Cabinet secretary has faced impeachment. The first instance occurred in 1876 when Secretary of War William Belknap was impeached but ultimately acquitted by the Senate.
Belknap, in a surprising turn of events, stepped down from his position just moments before the House was set to vote on the articles of impeachment. Nevertheless, the House proceeded with the impeachment process and officially rebuked him. Should Mayorkas face impeachment, he would become the first secretary to be impeached while still serving in office.
According to Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.), he plans to bring the articles to the floor “as soon as possible.”
Republicans have been demanding the impeachment of Mayorkas for several months, expressing concerns about the situation at the southern border. Greene brought attention to this effort in November when she took action to initiate two votes on removing the Cabinet secretary.
In the initial vote, the House decided to refer Greene’s articles of impeachment to the Homeland Security Committee. However, in a subsequent vote, the Georgia Republican chose to withdraw her proposal after receiving assurances from Johnson and Green that the House would proceed with proceedings against Mayorkas.
“I made it clear to them that I would continue to do this every week,” Greene stated in an interview with The Hill on Monday, recalling her commitment from last year to push for more votes on removing Mayorkas from office. “Then, Speaker Johnson approached me and assured me that we would proceed with these articles of impeachment, and Chairman Green of the Homeland Committee also pledged his support. In light of their promises, I agreed to cease introducing them as privileged resolutions.”
“And they followed through, and here are the results of their efforts. It’s actually happening this week,” she excitedly shared.
Marjorie Taylor Greene claiming responsibility for the impeachment proceedings against Mayorkas reinforces the Democrats’ argument that the campaign to remove the Cabinet secretary is led by staunch Republicans.
“The unfolding of this impeachment saga resembles a dramatic MAGA soap opera,” noted the Democrats on the Homeland Security Committee in their report, which was published on Monday. They were referring to Greene’s actions of pushing for votes on articles of impeachment.
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) and the Democrats on the Homeland Security Committee expressed their strong opposition to the initiative during a press conference held on Monday. Standing next to them at the event was a prominent picture of Greene and Johnson capturing a selfie.
According to Jeffries, the action taken is nothing more than a political stunt and a hit job orchestrated by Donald Trump and Marjorie Taylor Greene.
Rep. Bennie Thompson, the top Democrat on the panel, expressed the belief that the impeachment proceedings are not in the best interest of the government. He stated that the impeachment was a result of appeasing the more extreme elements within the Republican Party. Rep. Thompson referred to the previous withdrawal of the impeachment resolution by Marjorie Taylor Greene, with the intention of bringing it up again at a later date.
Read More:
- Barbra Streisand Criticizes Trump Once More, Accuses Him Of Believing He’s Exempt From The Law
- Alyssa Farah Griffin Criticizes Republican Response To Trump Verdict In E. Jean Carroll Defamation Case
