US border and immigration chief survives impeachment vote — RT World News
House Republicans failed to remove Alejandro Mayorkas from office by a very narrow margin
The US House of Representatives voted on Tuesday against impeaching Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas. Republicans accused Mayorkas of failing to deal with the influx of illegal immigrants crossing the border with Mexico.
The motion to bring impeachment charges was rejected by a vote of 214 to 216.
Four Republicans joined Democrats in refusing to support ouster. According to The Hill, Republicans were expecting two of their colleagues to vote no, however, two other Republican House lawmakers — Mike Gallagher of Wisconsin and Blake Moore of Utah — voted against the proposal as well. The Hill newspaper reported that Moore switched his vote to “no” for a second time before voting closed.
Another Republican — House Majority Leader Steve Scalise — was absent receiving medical treatment and missed the vote.
Republicans argued that Mayorkas failed to enforce the law in order to secure the southern border. Democrats responded by insisting that the secretary had not done anything that would warrant impeachment.
“Impeachment over mere political differences was deliberately denied by the framers of the Constitution [of the US Constitution]These disputes are best resolved in the court system.” said Bennie Thompson, a Democrat from Mississippi.
The vote took place amid a standoff between the GOP and President Joe Biden over spending bills. Republicans refused to support Biden's sweeping bill that would provide additional aid to Ukraine and Israel unless the White House agrees to tighten border security and immigration measures.
As a compromise, the Republican Party proposed passing a separate $17.6 billion Israeli bill. However, the legislation was voted down in the House on Tuesday, after Biden threatened to veto it.
Republicans refused to support Biden's bill, as House Speaker Mike Johnson said the proposed law “It will not come close to ending the border disaster that the president has created.”
Biden's main rival for re-election, former President Donald Trump, also criticized the immigration bill issued by the White House, describing it as “unacceptable.” “A sophisticated trap for Republicans.”
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