U.S. House fails to impeach Alejandro Mayorkas. Here’s how KS and MO members voted

Hardline conservatives in the U.S. House on Tuesday failed in a 214-216 vote to impeach Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, as a handful of their fellow Republicans balked at removing a constitutional officer over policy differences and joined Democrats to defeat the proposal.

All of the Republicans from Kansas and Missouri backed the impeachment effort. It was opposed by the three Democrats from the two states.

“I take impeachment proceedings seriously and agree with the many non partisan experts who have said the Secretary has not committed acts that meet the constitutional threshold for impeachment,” said Rep. Sharice Davids, a Kansas Democrat, who added that she has also pushed back against the Biden administration’s border policies.

Three Republicans joined 212 Democrats in opposition to impeachment – Rep. Tom McClintock, from California, Rep. Mike Gallagher, from Wisconsin, and Rep. Ken Buck, from Colorado. A fourth, Rep. Blake Moore, from Utah, changed his vote to a no so it could be reconsidered.

McClintock said the vote would expand the powers of impeachment in a way that would come back to hurt Republicans in the future.

Republicans have itched to impeach Mayorkas for months, seeing it as a way to send a message to the Biden administration over its policies at the southern border. There have been a rise in border crossings over the past three years amid instability in central American countries like El Salvador and Venezuela.

But opponents of the impeachment said the Republicans failed to prove that Mayorkas had committed high crimes and misdemeanors and that the vote was driven by partisan policy differences.

Impeachment experts – like Frank Bowman, an emeritus professor at the University of Missouri’s law school – raised concerns about the process, saying impeachment was typically reserved for when there is actual evidence of a crime.

The border remains one of the top political issues for Republicans.

Hardline conservatives this week quickly coalesced to crush a bipartisan effort in the Senate to provide $20 million to the border patrol and agencies working to process asylum claims, to allow more work visas to immigrants who come into the country legally and to allow the president to “shut down” the border if more than 5,000 immigrants arrive in a day.

Several Republicans, including Rep. Mark Alford, a Missouri Republican, have made trips to the border to highlight how many people are crossing to seek asylum from often counties upended by violence. He said he was disappointed with the result of the vote.

“It’s a loss for the American people,” Alford said. “It’s a loss for truth. It’s a loss for justice. It’s a loss for the security of America. We are facing a humanitarian crisis. And if we cannot get someone in there to do the job, to enforce the laws, secure the border, then we’re in trouble as a nation.”

Impeachment has become more common over the past 30 years, since former President Bill Clinton was impeached by the House in 1998. Former President Donald Trump was impeached twice – first for allegedly withholding federal funds from Ukraine unless leaders investigated Joe Biden

A cabinet official has not been impeached by the House since 1876, when War Secretary William Belknap was unanimously impeached for allegedly taking kickback payments for military appointments. He resigned before the impeachment vote.

Rep. Katherine Clark, a Massachusetts Democrat, said the impeachment was a “breach of the public trust.”

“Instead of pursuing a bipartisan compromise, instead of strengthening the security of our border, advancing humane solutions, and doing their jobs, they’re now impeaching the Secretary of Homeland Security?” Clark said. “Without a single allegation of any impeachable crime. Not one.”

How they voted

A yes vote means the lawmaker voted to impeach Alejandro Mayorkas

Kansas

Rep. Sharice Davids (D) — no

Rep. Ron Estes (R) — yes

Rep. Jake LaTurner (R) — yes

Rep. Tracey Mann (R) — yes

Missouri

Rep. Mark Alford (R) — yes

Rep. Eric Burlison (R) — yes

Rep. Cori Bush (D) — no

Rep. Emanuel Cleaver (D) — no

Rep. Sam Graves (R) — yes

Rep. Blaine Luetkemeyer (R) — yes

Rep. Jason Smith (R) — yes

Rep. Ann Wagner (R) — yes