House Considers Mayorkas Impeachment

The House is set to vote on a resolution (H. Res. 863) impeaching Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas. Its Homeland Security Committee voted along party lines on January 31 to forward the resolution, which includes two articles of impeachment, to the full House for further consideration. The committee accuses Mayorkas of "willful and systematic refusal to comply with the law" and "breach of the public trust." A majority of House members must vote to impeach - or indict - Mayorkas before the Senate can hold an impeachment trial (or take some other dispositive action about the articles of impeachment).

Consideration

The House rules regulate consideration of impeachment resolutions unless its members adopt different rules for particular impeachment efforts by unanimous consent or special rule. In this instance, the House used a special - or "structured" - rule (H. Res. 996) to regulate its consideration of the Mayorkas impeachment resolution. That rule authorizes two hours of debate "equally divided and controlled by the chair and ranking minority member of the Committee on Homeland Security or their respective designees." It blocks all points of order against the impeachment resolution. And it requires lawmakers to vote on both articles of impeachment (i.e., the rule stipulates that lawmakers cannot ask for a division of the question). The special rule also bars lawmakers from offering a motion to recommit the impeachment resolution before the House votes on final passage. It also makes it harder for House members to force votes on future efforts to impeach Mayorkas in the 118th Congress by stipulating that such resolutions will not be privileged.

Next Steps

The next two steps the House takes - if a majority of its members vote to impeach Mayorkas - will be to formally appoint lawmakers to serve as impeachment managers during the forthcoming Senate trial (more on this later). According to reports, Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., tapped the following Republicans to serve as managers: Andy Biggs (Ariz.), Ben Cline (Va.), Andrew Garbarino (N.Y), Marjorie Taylor Green (Ga.), Homeland Security Committee Chairman Mark Green (Tenn.), Michael Guest (Miss.), Harriet Hageman (Wyo.), Clay Higgins (La.), Laurel Lee (Fla.), Michael McCaul (Texas), and August Pfluger (Texas). The House will then pass a resolution notifying the Senate that it has approved the impeachment resolution/articles of impeachment and appointed managers to present its case in the trial. The House may consider these resolutions separately or together.