House Republicans took a major step toward impeaching Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas. Early Wednesday morning, the House Homeland Security Committee voted 18-15 to advance two articles of impeachment against Mayorkas over the Biden administration’s handling of immigration at the southern border.
The first of the two articles of impeachment advanced by the committee accuses the secretary of a “willful and systematic refusal to uphold the law” for failing to detain all migrants not clearly admitted to the country, and for instead creating an illegal “catch and release”.
The second article accuses Mayorkas of “breach of public trust” for several allegedly false statements he made to Congress, including claims that the border is “closed” and that DHS adequately screened Afghans flown into the United States after the Taliban takeover in that country.
Mayorkas’ actions “have created this unprecedented crisis, turning every state into a border state. As a result, thousands of Americans have lost their lives and our nation is experiencing a historic national security, public safety, and humanitarian catastrophe,” House Homeland Security said. Chairman Mark Green (R–Tenn.) in a statement.
The impeachment of a Cabinet secretary is a rare event. It only happened once in 1876. Republicans argue the move is justified by Mayorkas’ lawlessness, which in turn allowed crime and drugs to surge across the border.
In a letter to Green, Mayorkas called the Republicans’ allegations “baseless and inaccurate.” Politicwhich cited his department’s enforcement activities.
Critics of Republicans’ impeachment efforts note that the requirement to detain anyone allegedly illegal has not been met by any administration and that the articles themselves are loosely drafted.
if you’re wondering whether the House GOP’s attempted impeachment of Mayorkas is serious, consider that the articles of impeachment complain about measures taken by an entirely different department that Mayorkas doesn’t control (oops) https://t.co/UtrDBSOni2 pic.twitter.com/wqwRjKu5uN
—Catherine Rampell (@crampell) January 31, 2024
David Bier of the Cato Institute noted in a blog post earlier this month that the Biden administration has deported a higher percentage of border crossers than the Trump administration. Trump’s increased detention of migrants has not resulted in additional deportations.
Mayorkas’ articles of impeachment could reach the House by next week. The slim Republican majority will need near-unanimous GOP support to advance impeachment in the Senate, where any conviction is less likely.
The Senate, meanwhile, is awkwardly working on a bipartisan deal on immigration to address many of the issues raised by Mayorka’s impeachment efforts.
The Biden administration has reportedly requested an additional $14 billion to expand federal capacity to detain and deport more immigrants. The president also called for greater restrictions on migrants’ ability to apply for asylum.
“What was negotiated, if signed into law, would be the toughest and fairest set of reforms to protect the border that we have ever had in our country,” President Joe Biden said in a statement Friday. The deal would also increase the number of available visas by 250,000 reports The New York Times.
Support for the Senate immigration bill is waning. Several Republican senators spoke out against it. House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) has said he is a “non-starter” in the House.
Bier argued in a New York Times Yesterday I said that the chaos at the southern border can only be resolved by increasing legal immigration routes. But Republican opposition to the Senate border bill is based, in part, on its failure to further limit legal immigration.
Former President Donald Trump also urged congressional Republicans to oppose any immigration deal, vowing to “fight it to the end.” Trump reportedly believes scuttling an immigration deal will help him in the increasingly inevitable rematch between him and Biden in the 2024 presidential election.
The former president will need all the help he can get for re-election given the Democrats’ imminent deployment of their ultimate weapon: Taylor Swift.
The most enthusiastic corners of conservative media are sounding the alarm about a potential Taylor Swift psychological operation (PSYOP). A growing chorus of MAGA influencers claims that Swift’s admittedly inexplicable popularity is actually a sinister federal plot to throw the 2024 election to President Joe Biden.
Fox News host Jesse Watters kicked things off earlier this month when he posted a segment claiming that Swift was a possible, perhaps unwitting Department of Defense (DOD) asset being used to activate Democratic voters.
???? Jesse Watters: “The Pentagon’s PsyOp unit has proposed that NATO turn Taylor Swift into an asset to combat online disinformation”pic.twitter.com/vUm7XxMlll
— Chief Nerd (@TheChiefNerd) January 10, 2024
Swift’s headline-grabbing affair with Kansas City Chiefs player Travis Kelce, whose team will play in the Super Bowl next month, is just further evidence of the conspiracy theory.
Vivek Ramaswamy, a former Republican presidential candidate and Trump supporter, hinted on Twitter that the Super Bowl might even be rigged in favor of the Chiefs to create maximum value for Swift-Kelce’s endorsement of Biden-Harris.
Swift endorsed Biden in 2020, so another Democratic endorsement from her wouldn’t be much of a shock. Since many of Trump’s hardcore fans claim he won the last election, one wonders what exactly they are worried about.
I wonder who will win the Super Bowl next month. And I wonder if there will be a major presidential endorsement from an artificially culturally supported couple this fall. Just some wild speculation here, let’s see how it ages over the next 8 months.
— Vivek Ramaswamy (@VivekGRamaswamy) January 29, 2024
The Swift conspiracy theory raises the question; if the Democrats and the DOD are so good at creating popular appeal, why not eliminate the middle woman and directly push PSYOP America into thinking Biden is a pop icon in his own right?
Scenes from the DMV:
The DMV’s most famous landmark may soon fall prey to redevelopment. No, I’m talking about the Lincoln Memorial or something. I’m referring to the Arlington Temple United Methodist Church, just across the river from Rosslyn, Virginia.
Don’t worry, there’s still time to say goodbye to Rosslyn’s bizarre church on top of a gas station. For now, only the elevated walkway leading to the subway is being demolished. (edited) https://t.co/mhLHLo81Ut
— DCist (@DCist) January 19, 2024
The church sits improbably above a functioning gas station, a delightful piece of urban mixed-use development, built in 1971. The church-gas station combination will soon give way to a large mixed-use development, with apartments, shops and , fortunately, another church and another gas station.
It is obviously sad to see such a bizarre building disappear. Better to be an adult and accept the change than to try to use the legal process to prevent demolition against the property owner’s wishes.
QUICK SHOTS
- Learning loss due to the pandemic persists.
- Biden cites the timeless wisdom of the learned sage Elmo. Do you think Sesame Street is now government propaganda?
I know how hard it is some days to sweep away the clouds and make it to sunnier days.
Our friend Elmo is right: we must be there for each other, offer our help to others in need and, above all, ask for help when we need it.
Even if it’s difficult, you are never alone. https://t.co/ffMJekbowo
— President Biden (@POTUS) January 31, 2024