Judiciary GOP torn on Mayorkas impeachment as conference eyes other options

House Judiciary Republicans appeared split in their appetite for impeaching Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas Wednesday, with many largely refraining from discussions of booting him from office.

Democrats went into Wednesday's hearing expecting the unofficial kickoff of an impeachment inquiry into Mayorkas.

But they were met with a more muted GOP as the party grapples with where to focus their impeachment energy.

The hearing wasn’t entirely free of fireworks. Rep. Ken Buck (R-Colo.) told Mayorkas that U.S fentanyl deaths were “your fault” while Rep. Ben Cline (R-Va.) told Mayorkas he should ‘be ashamed; moreso you should be held accountable.”

And Rep. Jeff Van Drew (R-N.J.) repeated the once popular GOP refrain that he should resign or face removal, telling Mayorkas he’d reached the “inevitable conclusion” that the Homeland Security secretary should quit or “that leaves us with no other option. You should be impeached.”

Democrats previewed a point-by-point argument addressing GOP claims floated at different turns over Mayorkas’s two-and-a-half years on the job, and noted the drop in border crossings following the implementation of new Biden administration policies.

But most of the GOP seemed to carefully skirt the “I” word, a factor one GOP aide privately told The Hill was because “I think everyone has moved onto bigger fish.”

Rep. Jerold Nander (D-N.Y.), the top Democrat on the panel, rolled through a series of GOP arguments, including those surfaced in a recent report from the House Homeland Security Committee, which has vowed to turn over its investigative products for use by Judiciary should they advance an impeachment inquiry.

He asked Mayorkas to dismiss claims the border is open or that he lied to Congress during prior questioning with Rep. Chip Roy (R-Texas) about achieving operational control of the border, a standard requiring perfection.

“The Secure Fence Act, specifically the statute, defines operational control as not having one individual cross the border illegally. Under that statutory definition, no administration has achieved operational control,” Mayorkas said.

Nadler said Mayorkas was just one target of a GOP eager to impeach anyone, pointing to earlier comments from Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) while calling their “outrage…entirely evidence free.”

“As she so eloquently put it, ‘Everyone loves dessert, and that's impeachment. Someone needs to be impeached.’ Like many of her colleagues, she seemed not to care who was impeached, so long as they could engage in the political exercise of impeaching somebody in the Biden administration. She singled out Secretary Mayorkas as ‘the lowest hanging fruit,’” he said.

And Rep. Veronica Escaobar (D-Texas), whose district is along the U.S.-Mexico border, accused Republicans of using Mayorkas as a scapegoat while refusing to enact legislation that would do anything to solve the problem. 

“We know that the spectacle you're seeing on the other side is part of the Republicans ultimate distraction strategy, impeachment. They aren't just focused on impeaching you Mr. Secretary, despite the fact that apprehensions at the border are down by 70 percent,” she said.

“I encourage my colleagues who are seeking a true solution to join our effort to address our broken system. Anything short of that is a dereliction of Congress's responsibility and obligation,” she said, a nod to the GOP argument that Mayorkas has been derelict in his duty.

The GOP critiqued Mayorkas’s job performance, with Rep. Victoria Spartz (R-Ind.) asking him to rate how he’s done on the job on a scale of one to 10.

And Chair Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) accused the administration of offering too rosy a picture.

“We know that this administration repeatedly violates the law under the guise of instituting safe, orderly and humane policies. But nothing about the Biden administration's policy is safe, orderly, or humane,” he said.

“Only this administration and my Democratic colleagues would call it a success when monthly encounter numbers are near 150,000.”

Republicans in the hearing repeatedly griped about Mayorkas’s failure to answer specific questions on statistics or provide figures on the border.

The GOP had put Mayorkas on notice that they were hoping to get numbers – sending a letter on the afternoon ahead of the hearing with nine different areas where they were seeking data. That primarily covered how migrants seeking asylum were processed and deported since the start of the Biden administration.

“As I have stated before, data you wish to have we will provide to you as promptly as possible. What I don't want to do is misspeak when it comes to data,” Mayorkas told Jordan. 

But Jordan said those promises are often not realized.

“I can appreciate that. But we have a history where we've asked questions before, in a hearing, you told us the same thing. You don't get it back to us. So we're trying to get as much as we can on the record, in a public hearing,” Jordan said.

“You say you're gonna get back with this, but the history has not been too good on your part.”

Rep. Mike Johnson (R-La.) also accused Mayorkas of dodging questions.

“I think you're the most dishonest witness that has ever appeared before the Judiciary Committee and I think I speak for a lot of my colleagues. This is such a frustrating exercise for us,” he said.

Mayorkas was one of the earliest impeachment targets of the GOP – Rep. Glenn Ivey (D-Mass.) jokingly asked if he's unpacked his office yet – but his appearance comes as Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) has floated other targets for impeachment.

McCarthy in recent weeks has floated the potential impeachment of Attorney General Merrick Garland as well as President Biden.

Some Republicans have said Mayorkas should remain a focus, and the Republican Study Committee on Tuesday released a memo backing the action.

But McCarhy has gotten flack about pursuing impeachment, including from Buck shortly after his exchange with Mayorkas.

“This is impeachment theater,” Buck said, saying McCarthy was dangling impeachment as “a shiny object.”

“I don’t think it’s responsible for us to talk about impeachment. When you start raising the ‘I word’ it starts sending a message to the public and it sets expectations,” he added later.