The Republicans of the Chamber have detained the Secretary of National Security Alejandro Mayorkas for months. Attorney General Merrick Garland is also facing it. And it looks like President Joe Biden is not far behind.
What you need to know
House Republicans increasingly threaten impeachment against President Joe Biden and his top Cabinet officials
Impeachment has traditionally been seen as an option of last resort in Congress, to be used only for serious crimes.
But the constitutionally authorized power to charge officials with “serious crimes and misdemeanors” is well on its way to becoming routine.
Republicans have talked about the possibility of impeachment cases against Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas and Attorney General Merrick Garland
Spurred by demands from members of the far right, House Republicans are threatening impeachment against Biden and his top cabinet officials, creating talk of “serious crimes and misdemeanors” that is driving legislative action, spurring committee investigations and fundraising. money and complicating the plans of President Kevin McCarthy and his leadership team.
Long considered an option of last resort, to be activated only for the most serious violations, the constitutionally authorized power of impeachment is rapidly moving from the extraordinary to the banal, driven in large part by Republicans and their grievances about how Democrats impeached the president twice. donald trump
In fact, Republicans remain so opposed to impeaching Trump that they are pushing for votes to remove the charges entirely, an attempt to clear his name that is unprecedented in congressional history.
“We’re seeing a generation of Republicans who are much more willing to test the limits of how much the proceedings can be weaponized,” said Julian Zelizer, a historian and political scientist at Princeton University.
McCarthy on Sunday made Garland the latest target of a possible impeachment inquiry as Republicans scrutinize how the Justice Department handled the prosecution of Hunter Biden for federal tax crimes. It capped a tumultuous week in which far-right Republicans forced a vote to send articles of impeachment against Biden to an investigative committee and also voted to censure Democratic Rep. Adam Schiff for his comments and actions during the investigation into 2017 on Trump’s ties to Russia. .
Some Republicans are pushing for another impeachment inquiry, this time against Democratic Rep. Bennie Thompson for his leadership of the House committee that investigated the January 6 uprising.
In the past, lawmakers have reserved censure, a punishment one step below expulsion, for serious misconduct. When former Rep. Charles Rangel, D-New York, was censured in a bipartisan vote in 2010 for ethics violations, then-Speaker Nancy Pelosi solemnly summoned him to the well of the House, where members censured must present themselves while the resolution is being read. a moment of public shame.
“We went to great lengths to set aside partisan considerations because we knew how sharp and powerful the (censorship) weapon was,” said former Rep. Steve Israel, D-New York, who was among the top confidants close to Pelosi. “This used to be rare. Now, it’s in every cycle, breaking news.”
When Schiff was censured last week, the proceedings quickly took on a carnival quality. Democrats, including Pelosi, stepped forward to stand shoulder to shoulder in the House well. They interrupted McCarthy as he read the charges, shouting “Shame on you!” “A shame!” and “Adam! Adam!” — until the speaker left the dais.
“What happens, happens,” a Democrat could be heard shouting in the chamber. Republicans left the chamber shaking their heads.
“That was wild in there,” said Rep. Anna Paulina Luna, R-Fla. He had introduced the resolution of no confidence against Schiff, using a legislative tool that allowed him to bypass the leadership and force a vote.
The fervor in the House to hand out punishment shows no signs of abating, in part because lawmakers are raking in the media attention and fundraising dollars that are steadily replacing committee chairs as the seat of power in the House. .
Luna, who is just months into his first term in the House after winning a previously Democratic Florida district, was the subject of a prime-time Fox News interview following his successful push to impeach Schiff .
And the attention cut both ways. Schiff, who is running for a seat in the California Senate, seemed to enjoy the moment and used it for a fundraising blitz.
“They go after the people they think are effective; they go after the people they think are standing against them,” Schiff said in an interview on “The View,” one of several television appearances he made afterward.
However, there is a risk that Republicans’ appetite for using punitive powers could easily turn into a more serious test of whether Congress legitimately exercises power, and nowhere is that possibility greater than when it comes to by Biden.
Rep. Lauren Boebert, a Colorado Republican who won re-election last year by less than 600 votes, forced a vote last week on a resolution of impeachment against Biden for “high crimes and misdemeanors” over his handling of from the US border with Mexico.
Republican leaders were able to botch Boebert’s resolution, holding a vote that sent the matter to congressional committees for consideration.
Some Republicans, however, see it as a matter of when, not if, Biden is impeached. The floor debate over the resolution had the air of a dress rehearsal, as Democrats and Republicans debated whether Biden has committed “serious crimes and misdemeanors” with his handling of border and immigration policy.
Only three other presidents in US history have been impeached: Andrew Johnson, Bill Clinton and Trump, although none were convicted by the Senate. If Republicans decide to make Biden the fourth, a system of checks and balances created by the drafters could face a test like never before.
While the Constitution’s impeachment standard of “high crimes and misdemeanors” is deliberately open-ended, Republicans’ impeachment argument against Biden has so far focused on disagreement with his policy decisions. say, their handling of the southern border, which they say is tantamount to breaking. his oath of office.
Zelizer, the political historian, warned that moving forward with impeachment on these grounds would have lasting consequences.
“It weakens the function of government, it undermines confidence in this democracy and it will leave the democracy weaker than when it started,” he said.
