Chaos has been a common theme for the 118th Congress.
But this week, lawmakers took the drama to new heights, as Republicans in both chambers sank two top GOP priorities – impeaching Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas and securing the southern border – serving up a double dose of dysfunction in the nation’s capital.
“I had many people reach out to me via text message and say, ‘What the hell are you guys doing up there?’ I think our base is a little frustrated,” GOP Rep. Troy Nehls of Texas told CNN. “We may have the gavel, but we’re not acting like we’re in the majority.”
In the House, Tuesday’s embarrassing defeat of the Mayorkas impeachment effort – which was quickly followed by another floor failure over a standalone Israel aid package – only crystalized the GOP’s yearlong struggle to govern amid a rambunctious and anemic majority. In the wake of the fallout, Republican lawmakers are openly airing their frustrations and pointing fingers as to who is to blame, with some questioning their own leadership’s decision-making.
“I was embarrassed for our conference, for our party, because we can do better than we did last night,” said GOP Rep. Lance Gooden of Texas.
And the disarray was not isolated to the House, as the Senate GOP tanked a bipartisan border security deal on Wednesday crafted by some of its own members, sparking a bitter internal divide in the Republican conference.
“I have a difficult time understanding again how anyone else in the future is going to want to be on that negotiating team – on anything – if we are going to be against it,” said GOP Sen. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, who was one of just four Republicans who voted to advance the border security deal that ultimately failed on Wednesday.
She…
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