“I don’t know. I’m hopeful we can,” Rep. Jim Jordan (Ohio), when asked about passing articles of impeachment, told American Family Radio Thursday.
Rep. Gary Palmer, of Alabama, is displaying similar unsure, mixed-signal optimism.
About those 'neighbors' who now number 10 millionSteve Jordahl, AFN.net There is a crisis happening at the U.S-Mexico border, which is a both a legal crisis and a humanitarian crisis, so what is the proper role of the American Church that is watching it happen? Dr. Robert Pacienza, pastor of Florida-based Coral Ridge Presbyterian Church, tells AFN it is not difficult for Christians to reconcile protecting a sovereign border from 10 million people who come here wanting a better life. On one side of the political argument is the Evangelical Immigration Table, which says it respects the “rule of law” and national borders, but the words "illegal" and “illegal alien” are hard to find on its website and in numerous press releases. Citing the desperate and poor “undocumented immigrants” crossing the border, the EIT is built around Jesus’ mandate to love your neighbor rather than support our government deporting them. The parable of the good Samaritan, in the Book of Luke, is a command from God to love our neighbor which includes “migrants in need,” the group states online. Regarding that New Testament passage about “neighbor” in Luke, that word translated from Greek is “plesion.” It means “the nearest one,” Pacienza points out, not everyone who reaches the U.S. border. “That starts with our families, our neighbors and our community,” he says. “By having open borders and ignoring the laws of our land,” he says, “we're doing nothing but exposing our neighbors, our nearest ones, and particularly our children the next generation, to all kinds of crimes, to harm.” |
“I think there are one or two (Republicans) that have a problem with it. I know the Speaker is working the vote. We all are,” he told Washington Watch host Tony Perkins on Wednesday.
House Speaker Mike Johnson, elected in October to replace the ousted Kevin McCarthy, has watched the GOP’s slim majority dwindle to just one seat: 219 Republicans in the chamber and 218 votes needed to pass legislation.
Most Republicans say Mayorkas should be held accountable for a southern border crisis that has seen millions enter the country illegally since Joe Biden’s ascent to the White House.
In that time, you could fill Mount Rushmore with faces of questionable Leftist policies. Mayorkas, famous for insisting the over-run southern border is secure, would be just one face and not the highest.
The GOP made impeachment news in December when they voted to authorize an inquiry into Biden after months of investigation.
“We’ve been in impeachment inquiry mode since we took the official vote, and we continue in that investigation,” said Jordan, who chairs the House Judiciary Committee.
Jordan said Biden family friend and associate Eric Schwerin appeared before the committee for a deposition earlier this week and that James Biden, the President’s brother, is also scheduled to appear.
“We’ve got another key person from the FBI who we will be deposing next week, and we have Hunter Biden scheduled for the end of this month. We are continuing that process,” Jordan said.
The White House has said there’s no basis for an impeachment inquiry into Biden.
Mayorkas 'failed to uphold his responsibilties'
Democrats say Republicans are going after Mayorkas on policy disagreements and insist their allegations lack evidence of treason, bribery or other high crimes and misdemeanors, which are necessary for impeachment according to the U.S. Constitution.
Palmer and Jordan say they’re wrong.
“First of all, he’s committed a felony. He has perjured himself in testimony before Congress multiple times,” Palmer said. “He’s also failed to uphold his responsibilities, his sworn duty to faithfully enforce the laws of the nation"
For Mayorkas to tell Congress under oath, with the threat of perjury, the southern border is secure is "impeachable," Palmer insisted.
In his testimony before Congress, a smug Mayorkas has angered frustrated Republicans with talking points and bureaucratic double-speak.
"Our approach to managing the borders securely and humanely, even within our fundamentally broken immigration system, is working," Mayorkas testified at a July 2023 hearing that Fox News called "fiery."
"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," Rep. Mike Johnson, who was to become Speaker three months later, told the DHS secretary.
Palmer watched illegals cross into U.S.
On his most recent trip to the border, as a member a 64-person GOP delegation in early January, Palmer said he left the guided tour and ventured off on his own to talk with Border Patrol agents and Texas law enforcement that he believed would speak more freely in an individual setting.
At that time, he watched live what has become a common scene in media coverage.
“While I was standing there, probably 200 or 300 yards from the main group, there were a group of men who came out from under the riverbank, waded across this little canal, and came up the bank right where I was standing. I was taking photographs of them. They were all young adult males, from Venezuela and Honduras,” Palmer said. “We know we’ve interdicted 312 known or suspected terrorist from the terror watch list, but we have no idea who came across in the 1.7 million got-aways.”
A floor vote will be only the second time in history that the House will consider the removal of a Cabinet official, The Hill reported. The only other time was in the 1870s.
The threat of removal for Mayorkas is expected to die in the Democrat-controlled Senate where a two-thirds vote will be needed for ouster.
The first article of impeachment claims that Mayorkas has defied U.S. immigration law.
The second article says Mayorkas has violated his oath of office and has failed to faithfully discharge his duty as Homeland Security Secretary.
In a statement defending Mayorkas, Rep. Bennie Thompson (D-Miss.) said Republicans are "abusing" the U.S. Constitution to "appease their MAGA members, score political points, and deflect Americans’ attention from their do-nothing Congress."
Jordan: Three steps to reclaim the border
Rep. Jordan says if Democrats can’t see impeachable offenses from Mayorkas, they’re not looking.
“You can just look at the situation and see he’s not enforcing the law," the Republican said. "Then the breach of public trust is the number of times Secretary Mayorkas has come in front of Congress and misled the Congress and therefore the American people.”
Jordan says three things need to happen for the U.S. to regain control of its border.
“We’ve got to pass these two articles and send a huge message that says, ‘This guy’s done.’ Second, we have to attach the spending bill and say you can’t use taxpayer money to continue to allow people into the country. No money can be used to process or release any new migrants into the country.
“Then third, and maybe most important, let’s make sure President Trump is back in the White House.”
