Moment Republicans voted to impeach Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas
Republicans in the House of Representatives have suceeded in impeaching Joe Biden’s top border official, homeland security secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, after the motion slipped to an embarrassing defeat last week.
The vote succeeded along party lines lines, winning 214-213.
Three Republicans joined Democrats in voting against the articles of impeachment.
House GOP members accuse Mr Mayorkas of failing to stem record flows of migrants across the US-Mexico border, an issue their likely presidential candidate Donald Trump intends to make the central pillar of his election campaign this year.
Mr Mayorkas oversees border enforcement and immigration policies, such as the asylum process and the possible detention of migrants.
As such, many Republicans view him as the prime target for their frustration at the rapid rise of border crossings.
However, those in favour of impeachment have struggled to provide evidence that Mr Mayorkas is guilty of high crimes and misdemeanours – the constitutional standard for impeachment.
The secretary has said denied responsibility for the border situation, blaming it instead on a broken immigration system that Congress has not been able to fix and has dismissed the impeachment putsch as an unconstitutional and baseless “stunt” that will not solve the problem.
Biden says Trump’s Nato remarks are ‘dumb’, ‘shameful’, ‘dangerous’ and ‘unAmerican’
Trump’s suggestion over the weekend that he would abandon America’s Nato allies in the face of Russian aggression if they had not met their financial commitments to the military alliance were slammed by Joe Biden last night, as he called on the House of Representatives to hurry up and pass more Ukraine aid, warning them: “History is watching.”
The president called his predecessor’s comments on Nato “dumb”, “shameful”, “dangerous” and “unAmerican” and tantamount to bowing down to Russian dictator Vladimir Putin.
You can see his comments in full courtesy of IndyTV.
Biden slams Trump’s ‘dumb’ comments on Russian aggression against Nato
Joe Biden on Tuesday (13 February) said Donald Trump’s comments calling into question the US commitment to defend its Nato allies from attack were “dangerous” and “un-American”. The former president, who is once again the front-runner for the Republican Party’s nomination, said on Saturday that he once warned that he would allow Russia to do whatever it wants to Nato member nations that are “delinquent” in devoting two per cent of their gross domestic product to defence. Mr Biden, speaking from the White House, called Mr Trump’s comments “dangerous and shocking.” “Just a few days ago, Trump gave an invitation to Putin to invade some of our allies,” he said. “For God sake, it’s dumb. It’s shameful. It’s dangerous. It’s un-American.”
Joe Sommerlad14 February 2024 12:15
‘History is watching’: Biden urges House of Representatives to act quickly on Ukraine aid
President Joe Biden on Tuesday called on the Republican-led House of Representatives to act quickly to approve the $95.34bn (£75.69bn) defence aid package which passed the Senate by a vote of 70-29 earlier in the day, warning House speaker Mike Johnson and his colleagues that their actions will be remembered long in the future.
“If we don’t stop [Russian president Vladimir] Putin’s appetite for power and control in Ukraine, he won’t limit himself just to Ukraine, and the cost for America and our allies and partners are going to rise,” he said, speaking from the State Dining Room in the White House just hours after the Senate vote.
“For Republicans in Congress who think they can oppose funding for Ukraine and not be held accountable. History is watching … failure to support Ukraine at this critical moment will never be forgotten,’ he added.
Andrew Feinberg reports from Washington, DC.
Joe Sommerlad14 February 2024 11:15
Trump Nato remarks leave allies with doubts, warns Romney
Mr Romney, now a Utah Senator after being the 2012 Republican presidential nominee and serving as the governor of Massachusetts, told The Independent on Monday: “He says outrageous things to get people riled up. It works at the rallies. Unfortunately, it also has an impact around the world where our friends wonder whether they can rely on America.”
Oliver O’Connell14 February 2024 10:45
Biden has a trust gap problem
Joe Biden is less trusted on key issues than Donald Trump, according to a new poll that suggests voters have become weary with his administration’s handling of major crises and upset about the state of the economy.
An ABC News/Ipsos poll that was released on Sunday provided several vexing results for the incumbent president. One startling result that suggests the depth of Mr Biden’s problems: voters were more likely to blame him over Mr Trump for the collapse of border security talks in Congress — even despite Mr Trump publicly coming out against the legislation, while Mr Biden supported it.
It’s a maddening survey result that suggests two problems: insufficient or ineffective messaging on the issue of immigration in general and the Senate’s bipartisan compromise legislation specifically on the part of the White House and Biden campaign; and a failure by the beltway media to succinctly describe the state of both America’s immigration system and the politics behind it to the American public.
John Bowden reports from Washington, DC:
Oliver O’Connell14 February 2024 08:45
ICYMI: Senate approves $95bn aid for Ukraine and Israel in pre-dawn vote
The Senate overwhelmingly passed a legislative package to provide aid to Ukraine, Israel, and allies in the Indo-Pacific but it faces additional hurdles as House speaker Mike Johnson announced he would not put the bill to the floor.
Only 29 senators –26 Republicans plus three Democrats – voted against the bill, with 70 senators, including 22 from the GOP, voting in favour. Senator Rand Paul of Kentucky led the charge against the $95.34bn (£75.69bn) package as a host of Republican senators spoke on the floor late into the night on Monday evening and into Tuesday morning.
The legislation came after Senate Republicans rejected a larger package that would have included additional provisions to restrict immigration and increase security at the US-Mexico border.
Eric Garcia and Andrew Feinberg filed this report from Washington, DC:
Oliver O’Connell14 February 2024 05:45
Democrats are finally starting to break with Israel
During the final hours of debate on the security supplemental package, Senator Chris Van Hollen of Maryland excoriated the Israeli government’s actions in Gaza. In doing so, he all but accused Benjamin Netanyahu’s government of committing international war crimes.
“Kids in Gaza are now dying from the deliberate withholding of food,” he said on the floor of the United States Senate. “In addition to the horror of that news, one other thing is true. That is a war crime.”
Van Hollen is one of only a handful of Democratic senators who supports a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas. And hearing any United States senator say Israel has effectively committed war crimes is unprecedented, given widespread support for Israel across both parties.
Oliver O’Connell14 February 2024 03:45
Why is Lloyd Austin hospitalised again?
Oliver O’Connell14 February 2024 01:45
What happens next following Mayorkas impeachment?
Now that the US House of Representatives has voted to impeach Alejandro Mayorkas, secretary of homeland security, the US Senate will have to hold a trial.
But Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, a Democrat from New York, could choose not to bring Mr Mayorkas to trial at all.
If a trial even happens, the Senate would then need a 2/3 vote to convict Mr Mayorkas. However, with a Democratic majority in the Senate and many Republicans opposed to holding such a trial, such an outcome is unlikely.
Katie Hawkinson14 February 2024 01:04
Senate Majority Leader speaks out against Mayorkas impeachment
“This sham impeachment effort is another embarrassment for House Republicans,” Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, a Democrat from New York, said in a statement.
“The one and only reason for this impeachment is for Speaker Johnson to further appease Donald Trump,” he said. “House Republicans failed to produce any evidence that Secretary Mayorkas has committed any crime. House Republicans failed to show he has violated the Constitution. House Republicans failed to present any evidence of anything resembling an impeachable offense.”
“This is a new low for House Republicans,” he continued.
Katie Hawkinson14 February 2024 00:56
Three GOP representatives joined Democrats in voting against impeachment
Republicans Ken Buck of Colorado, Mike Gallagher of Wisconsin and Tom McClintock of California all voted against the impeachment of Alejandro Mayorkas, alongside all House Democrats.
Katie Hawkinson14 February 2024 00:51