If you thought Republicans had done all the political grandstanding they could do on immigration, then Rep. Andy Biggs of Arizona just proved you wrong. Biggs, aligned with House Republicans who profess to be outraged at what they call the weaponization of the federal government, obviously isn’t opposed to weaponizing Congress. Biggs announced Wednesday that he’s introducing articles of impeachment against Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, who was appointed to the position by President Joe Biden in 2021.
If you thought Republicans had done all the political grandstanding they could do on immigration, then Rep. Andy Biggs of Arizona just proved you wrong.
The Constitution allows a Cabinet secretary to be impeached for “high crimes and misdemeanors.” What has Mayorkas done that falls into either of those two categories? According to Biggs, who is politically aligned with some of the country’s most xenophobic anti-immigration groups, Mayorkas has lost “the public trust” when it comes to the U.S.-Mexico border.
This is not the first time Biggs has pursued this strategy. He filed an article of impeachment against Mayorkas in August 2021, barely six months after Mayorkas was sworn into office. Biggs argued then that Mayorkas was “a threat to the sovereignty and security of our nation.” But it was all a symbolic charade then. Now that Republicans control the House, the impeachment threat is real. In November, in an obvious attempt to get far-right conservatives such as Biggs to support his bid for House speaker, Kevin McCarthy said, “If Secretary Mayorkas does not resign, House Republicans will investigate every order, every action and every failure, [and] will determine whether we can begin impeachment inquiry.”
Adding to the threat is Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, serving as the chair of the House Judiciary Committee. The committee’s website Wednesday prominently featured a story from the Daily Mail with this headline: “Border war…
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