California Republican Rep. Tom McClintock said Wednesday that he went against his party to vote against the ouster of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas because it would make it cheaper to use Congress's biggest punishment.
“It lowers the standard of impeachment to the point that it will become a constant in our national life whenever the White House is in the hands of one party and Congress is in the hands of another,” McClintock told The Times on Wednesday. “That's exactly what the American founders feared, and that's why they were very careful to specify narrow limits on its use.”
Tuesday afternoon's failed 214-216 vote was a stunning setback for House Republicans, who had been signaling plans to impeach Mayorkas since they regained control of the chamber last year.
McClintock, a staunch conservative from Elk Grove, has been known as a constitutional originalist willing to break with his party when he deems it necessary. That includes supporting the legalization of marijuana and opposing the 2017 Republican tax bill because it reduced the popular state and local tax deduction, also known as SALT.
“I've learned over the years that if you're going to be an outlier, you better be absolutely sure you're right, and I took the time and I'm pretty sure I'm right,” McClintock said.
McClintock explained his reasoning in a 10-page memo early Tuesday before the impeachment trial collapsed.
In the memo, McClintock said the two articles of impeachment “do not identify an impeachable crime that Mayorkas committed. In fact, they stretch and distort the Constitution to hold the administration responsible for stretching and distorting the law.”
The articles accuse Mayorkas of failing to adequately enforce the country's immigration laws and violating the public trust. Republicans have accused Mayorkas of ending immigration policies in place during the Trump administration and enacting new immigration policies under President Biden that they say have encouraged more people to come.
The White House has argued that a Cabinet secretary should not be impeached over a political disagreement and that current policies address immigration within the scope of the budget Congress passes.
McClintock said new laws or more money won't help. He said if voters are unhappy with immigration policy, they should give Republicans control of the government.
“This problem will not be solved by passing bills that will not be signed or laws that will not be enforced, or funds that will be used only to admit illegal aliens and not expel them,” he said. “And it will not be solved by replacing one left-wing official with another.”
The vote against impeachment was a surprise, caused by a combination of Republican absences from the floor on Tuesday, the “no” votes of four Republicans and the surprise appearance of a barefoot Democrat dressed in a surgical gown fresh from surgery. at a local hospital.
McClintock was one of four Republicans who voted no to Mayorkas' impeachment. One of those no votes, from Rep. Blake Moore (R-Utah), the conference vice president, was a tactical no. If a member of leadership votes no, he can raise the issue again at a later date.
House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) noted Wednesday that while the failure was a setback, he plans to bring up the articles of impeachment again.
“Democracy is chaos. We live in a time of divided government. We have a very narrow margin here and every vote counts,” Johnson said. “We will pass those articles of impeachment. We will do it in the next round.”
One of the other no votes, Rep. Mike Gallagher (R-Wis.), was being pressured to change his mind as the vote was taking place, but McClintock said he was not pressured to change his vote by either party leaders. the House or by his colleagues. Republican representatives.
“Everyone has been very respectful and recognizes that the position I have taken is supportive of our Constitution and the process that makes this government work,” he told The Times.
Still, he received criticism after the vote by Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.), who introduced the articles of impeachment.
“He is breaking his oath,” he said, referring to McClintock. “You need to steel yourself and read the room. The room is our country and the American people are fed up. … He needs to do the right thing.”
In a CSPAN interview on Wednesday, McClintock responded.
“Instead of reading the room, I would suggest that perhaps she read the Constitution that she swore to support and defend,” he said. “The Constitution establishes very clearly the grounds for impeachment. “This dramatically simplifies those arguments and would set a precedent that could turn against conservatives on the Supreme Court or a future Republican administration the moment Democrats take control of Congress.”
