House may vote on impeaching Mayorkas without a motion to table: source

A senior House Republican leadership source says the House will likely hold a vote Tuesday on impeaching Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas.

Fox is told to expect a straight up or down vote on a privileged resolution to impeach Mayorkas, which Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., introduced Thursday morning.

The source suggested it would be unlikely a motion to table or set the measure aside is introduced. Such a vote could serve as a fig leaf to protect members who make a lot of noise about impeaching Mayorkas but may be unwilling to vote on the record.

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If that’s the case, Mayorkas could be impeached without a hearing or a committee markup.

That would automatically trigger a process that would compel the House to send articles of impeachment for Mayorkas and impeachment managers to the Senate.

That does not necessarily mean there would be a Senate trial. But the Democrat-controlled Senate would have to receive the articles of impeachment from the House.

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Such a turn of events could be extraordinary considering how many Republicans spoke about “process.” Former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., prevented an effort this spring by Rep. Lauren Boebert, R-Colo., to impeach President Biden. The House extinguished the effort by dispatching the Boebert impeachment gambit of the president to committee.

McCarthy often spoke about handling impeachments “by the book.” That involves depositions, hearings and a markup on the articles of impeachment themselves. None of that has happened with Mayorkas.

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Notably, the House voted to table an effort last week to expel Rep. George Santos, R-N.Y., largely because he had not received “due process.” The House Ethics Committee had not finished a report on Santos nor held a public hearing. A report on Santos is due by Nov. 17. 

But many lawmakers from both sides opposed expelling Santos out of concern for due process.

House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., spoke out on Fox about potentially expelling Santos because of “due process.”

But now it’s possible the House could impeach Mayorkas without the usual parliamentary mechanics that come with that special congressional power.

That said, it’s possible the House could reject an effort to impeach Mayorkas. That could be an embarrassment for hardline Republicans who have talked about impeaching Mayorkas for months — yet possibly stumbled when an actual impeachment resolution went to the floor.