Marjorie Taylor Greene announces plan for second vote to impeach Mayorkas

House Republicans failed to impeach Homeland Security Sec. Alejandro Mayorkas, but vow to try again. The GOP remains deeply divided.

In a nail-biting vote, House Republicans were unable to impeach Homeland Security Sec. Alejandro Mayorkas for his mishandling of the southern border crisis. Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene insisted that the narrow defeat was not a failure and vowed to bring impeachment before Congress again once House Majority Whip Steve Scalise returns from cancer treatment. She assured reporters that the next vote could potentially come as soon as next week, stating 'this is not over yet.' Greene repeatedly mentioned Scalise's impending return and believes he'll be a key vote when he's back in Washington.

The failed impeachment vote marked the second of three major legislative failures of the day for House Republicans, who remain deeply divided across the House and Senate. Speaker Mike Johnson's $17.6 billion Israel aid stand-alone bill spectacularly failed in a 250 to 218 vote, another humiliating defeat for Republicans in a span of 15 minutes. And earlier in the day, Senate Republicans summarily killed the $118 billion bipartisan border and security supplemental deal they spent months negotiating - and only released two days ago.

The impeachment of Mayorkas was meant to be a rare unifier for House Republicans who are deeply divided on other issues, but GOP leaders were left stunned by the results. The GOP impeachment bid hung by a thread as Speaker Mike Johnson could only afford to lose three total votes. The vote stalled for several minutes before GOP Conference Vice Chair Blake Moore switched his initial 'yes' on impeachment to 'no' to bring the tally up to 216, so he could bring the measure up again in the future.

The failed impeachment vote has sent the House GOP back to the drawing board, and it's unlikely that any border policy changes will be made by Congress before the next presidency. The farcical development came less than an hour after President Joe Biden blamed Donald Trump for leading the bid to tank the law to help improve his chances in the 2024 election. The bill, including $20 billion for border measures, would mandate the border be shut if there are 5,000 encounters over the course of a week or 8,500 migrants encountered in a single day. But many Republicans didn't think it went far enough and are demanding the immediate reinstatement of pandemic-era Title 42, Remain in Mexico policies, and border wall construction.

The failed impeachment vote and other legislative failures have highlighted the rampant turmoil among House Republicans, who cannot get on the same page regarding spending and the $118 billion supplemental funding deal. They even voted to oust their previous speaker Kevin McCarthy last year. The Department of Homeland Security and Democrats blasted the GOP-led effort as a 'political stunt' targeting a man 'doing the best he can in extreme circumstances.' The impeachment of Mayorkas comes amid the crisis at the southern border, with over 302,000 migrant encounters in December, an all-time record.

The failed impeachment vote and other legislative failures have underscored the deep divisions within the Republican Party, as they struggle to come to a consensus on critical issues. The chaos on the House floor has raised questions about the party's ability to lead and govern effectively, and the future of border policy remains uncertain. As House Republicans regroup and reassess their strategy, the fate of the southern border crisis and the Department of Homeland Security remains in limbo.

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