Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas is, among other things, the highest-ranking Cuban American in the federal government. With this in mind, The Miami Herald reported this week that a group of prominent Cuban Americans — including some people with notable Republican backgrounds — recently launched an effort to push back against GOP efforts to impeach the Cabinet secretary.
Among the organizers is health care mogul Mike Fernandez, who was a top fundraiser for Republican Sen. Rick Scott, and Al Cardenas, who served as the chairman of the Republican Party of Florida Chairman.
“We call on the Republican leadership to put aside political stunts like impeachment, and get to work to help fix our problems at the border,” the group argued in an open letter. “This should be done not as Republicans or Democrats, but as patriots who were sent to Washington to work together toward the common goal of solving our nation’s problems.”
Their efforts don’t appear to be having much of an effect. Politico reported:
The House Homeland Security Committee will vote on impeachment articles against Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas on Jan. 30. Committee Chair Mark Green (R-Tenn.) formally announced the vote Tuesday. The impeachment resolution is expected to be advanced by the GOP-controlled panel along party lines. That paves the way for a possible full House vote the week of Feb. 5 — depending on absences and where undecided Republicans land on the issue.
GOP lawmakers, in other words, are apparently prepared to go through with this, as difficult as this might be to believe.
The latest announcement on the schedule comes a week after House Republicans wrapped up impeachment hearings against Mayorkas — a process that produced no evidence that the DHS secretary committed high crimes.
A variety of constitutional experts from the left, right, and center have slammed the effort, arguing that impeaching a cabinet secretary without evidence of constitutional crimes would be at odds with our system of government and potentially dangerous. Even Jonathan Turley — ordinarily, a reliable ally for congressional Republicans — told GOP lawmakers they would be “wise to avoid” such a radical course.
At least for now, the party is ignoring the advice. Republicans have effectively concluded that Mayorkas is doing his job poorly — a dubious assertion, to be sure — which they believe is enough to warrant impeachment.
As the process moves forward, I continue to believe there are four elements to keep in mind. The first is the historical oddity of such an effort: The only time in American history that a cabinet secretary was impeached was in 1876, when the House impeached Secretary of War William Belknap — after he left office — over alleged bribes. (He was later acquitted by senators.) The second is that even if Mayorkas were to be impeached, there’s little to suggest the Senate would convict him and remove him from office. Politico reported that some GOP senators “are openly signaling that even if impeachment managed to squeak through the House, it would quickly die in their chamber — and not just at the hands of the Democratic majority.” Third, there’s no reason to assume that House Republicans would stop with the Homeland Security secretary. On the contrary, impeaching Mayorkas would likely embolden GOP radicals, who would target others, too. Given that the party’s impeachment list is almost comically long, Finally, there are standards to consider: What would happen to the future of American politics if members of Congress decide they no longer need evidence of high crimes to impeach an official they don’t like? This post updates our related earlier coverage.
Steve Benen is a producer for "The Rachel Maddow Show," the editor of MaddowBlog and an MS NOW political contributor. He's also the bestselling author of "Ministry of Truth: Democracy, Reality, and the Republicans' War on the Recent Past."
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