The House of Representatives is deeply divided right now. Far-right members of the Freedom Caucus have stalled legislation and kicked out the Speaker of the House once before, with a motion filed to potentially oust the current Speaker, Mike Johnson, as well. In spite of that, the business of the government must continue, and that always leads to some surprising announcements.
An Announcement About Marjorie Taylor Greene
One of the most surprising recent announcements regards Georgia representative, Marjorie Taylor Greene. Greene is a former member of the Freedom Caucus, a deeply conservative Republican, and a staunch supporter of former president, Donald Trump.
She is one of the members of Congress who has, to this day, repeatedly pushed the Big Lie, and has gone out of her way to state that she believes that Joe Biden’s election was fraudulent. She’s attempted to introduce motions and petitions that absolve Donald Trump of his alleged guilt regarding January 6, and has had multiple conflicts with other conservative congress members in the past.
A Controversial Representative
Greene is one of the more controversial figures in the House of Representatives. She’s been in the headlines for anti semitic comments that were posted online before she was elected to office, for her stance against masking in Congress, and various other things.
Her polling has put her as one of the least popular politicians in the country, with her local numbers only polling approval rates in the teens to low twenties. In spite of this, it’s very likely that Greene will be reelected this fall, as she hails from a safe, deep red district.
Greene Acting Extremely
Her electoral safety could be one of the reasons that Greene feels as safe as she does in some of her more extreme actions. Recently, after the House of Representatives voted overwhelmingly in favor of the $1.2 trillion budget for the rest of the fiscal year, she filed a motion to oust Speaker of the House, Mike Johnson.
While Greene stated that the motion was merely a “warning” to Speaker Johnson, this is the second time that she has supported a motion to remove House leadership. It took weeks to find a replacement Speaker when Kevin McCarthy was ousted from the position last fall, and the idea of going through that circus again in an election year is not popular with many of Greene’s colleagues.
Greene Assigned as House Impeachment Manager
Johnson doesn’t appear to be threatened by this motion, though, or by Greene herself. And he has recently demonstrated that by assigning Greene a fairly high-profile position in Congress, the manager of Secretary Homeland Security, Alejandro Mayorkas’ impeachment hearing.
House Republicans have been investigating Mayorkas for month, looking into his actions surrounding the border crisis and accusing him, and the Biden administration at large, of not doing enough to secure the border. They claim that Mayorkas’ actions border on criminal negligence, which is the justification for the impeachment inquiry.
Republicans’ Actions on the Border
This is a deeply unpopular move, especially considering the Republicans’ own actions regarding the border. This past winter, a bill was passed in the Senate that combined funding for Ukraine and Israel with actions on the border, which was worked on for months in a bipartisan Senate committee.
Once the bill was announced, though, Republicans in the House of Representatives came out strongly against it. They said that a “bipartisan” border bill couldn’t possibly have everything necessary to secure the border, and that President Biden didn’t need to pass any legislation in order to do what was necessary for the safety of the country.
“Dead on Arrival”
Speaker Mike Johnson was public in stating that the border bill would be “dead on arrival” in the House, and after the overwhelming backlash against the bill, support in the Senate turned around as well. It was killed by the very Republicans who had helped to craft the bill, despite being the first bipartisan border legislation to make it out of committee in years.
Of course, the story behind the bill dying is a little more complicated than Republicans simply disagreeing with the language of the legislation. It was rumored that Republicans killed the bill at the behest of Donald Trump, who wanted to be able to use the border as a campaign issue this year, and that rumor was eventually confirmed by a recorded conversation from Speaker Johnson.
A Challenging Sell for Conservatives
The facts surrounding the border bill have made the impeachment inquiry into Mayorkas a little hard to swallow, even for staunch conservatives. There are many who believe that Republicans are wasting time and the taxpayers’ dollars, on an impeachment that took multiple votes to secure in the first place.
In spite of this, the impeachment vote was approved by the House with a one-vote majority on February 13. This was the second vote on the matter, after the first vote on the issue failed a few weeks before.
Doubling Down
Now, it appears that House Republicans are doubling down on the issue. Despite their challenging personal conflict – and the fact that she’s threatened to oust him from his job – Speaker Mike Johnson has named Marjorie Taylor Greene as one of eleven potential managers for Mayorkas’ impeachment hearing.
Some of the other members of Congress who were named as potential managers include Homeland Security Committee Chair Mark Green, Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Michael McCaul, Ethics Committee Chair Michael Guest, and Representatives Andy Biggs and Laurel Lee.
Sending a Letter to Chuck Schumer
The impeachment managers and Speaker Johnson sent a letter to Democratic Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer on Thursday, stating that they would be sending two charges to the upper chamber on April 10, urging him to “schedule a trial of the matter expeditiously.”
The impeachment itself accuses Mayorkas of “willful and systematic refusal to comply with the law and his breach of the public trust.” Democrats have slammed the impeachment as baseless and flimsy, and have used it as an example of how liberals believe that Republicans are failing in their leadership duties with control of the lower chamber.
Formally Bringing Up Charges
The charges being sent up to the Senate means that they must formally bring up the charges, at some point. A conviction in the upper chamber is highly unlikely, given that Democrats control the chamber and a conviction on impeachment requires a two-thirds majority for removal of the officer.
Still, that hasn’t stopped Republicans from trying to convince Schumer and other Democrats in their letter. They stated, “The evidence on both charges is clear, comprehensive, and compelling, and the House’s solemn act to impeach the first sitting Cabinet official in American history demands timely action by the Senate.”
Strong Criticisms from Schumer
Schumer hasn’t revealed how he will handle the charges since receiving the letter. It’s possible that he will vote to dismiss the charges immediately, but he could also choose to hold a full trial or refer the issue to a special committee to handle the matter.
Schumer has, however, strongly criticized the impeachment. “This sham impeachment effort is another embarrassment for House Republicans. The one and only reason for this impeachment is for Speaker Johnson to further appease Donald Trump,” he said, in a statement made on February 13.
Arguing Among the Chambers
He further argued that, “House Republicans failed to show he has violated the Constitution.” Schumer believes that Republicans “Failed to present any evidence of anything resembling an impeachable offense.”
The letter sent to the Senate Majority leader on Thursday pushes back against those comments. Republicans wrote that Mayorkas “directed, through a series of memoranda, DHS employees to violate US immigration laws. Through his tenure, he has repeatedly lied to Congress and the American people about the scope of the crisis and his role in it.”
Calling for a Full Trial
Senate Republican leaders, including Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, have called for a full trial of Mayorkas. In spite of this, the move to impeach Mayorkas is not a popular one with Republicans, and many conservative Senators have called the impeachment a waste of time for the government.
It’s very likely that the impeachment of Mayorkas will go nowhere, and it may be one more nail in the coffin for Speaker Johnson and the House Republicans, including Marjorie Taylor Greene. Many Americans want to see decisive and clear leadership from our elected representatives, and Republicans are slowly proving that they cannot provide what the American people need.
