House Republicans poised to impeach DHS secretary over problems at southern border

Amna Nawaz:

For the first time in nearly 150 years, the House of Representatives is poised to impeach a member of the president's Cabinet.

But while conservative lawmakers are accusing the homeland secretary of losing control of the border, they're struggling to control their own chamber.

Congressional correspondent Lisa Desjardins saw it all firsthand today and joins me now.

Good to see you Lisa.

Lisa Desjardins:

Hi.

Amna Nawaz:

So what are House Republicans arguing here in terms of why they're impeaching the homeland security secretary? And do they all agree amongst themselves?

Lisa Desjardins:

We know the impeachment standard in the Constitution, high crimes and misdemeanors.

The argument from House Republicans, twofold here. They're saying that Secretary Mayorkas failed in his duty to protect and that he abused power. Specifically, they say that he lied to Congress when he told them that he had operational control of the border.

I want to play a sound bite from one of these Republicans pushing for impeachment. This is Clay Higgins of Louisiana.

Rep. Clay Higgins (R-LA):

On this committee, we have carried out our investigation, Secretary Mayorkas. I sit here today and tell you, we're going to impeach him. He's going to be impeached. And he should be. He is the executive in charge of the border policy for President Biden.

Lisa Desjardins:

They say it's a dereliction of duty that is causing a security problem for the country.

Now, Democrats reject this. They say, first of all, it's political. But Mayorkas himself has said that he is doing the job as well as he can. And as far as operational control, he says he sets a reasonable standard. He's not saying that not a single illegal crossing happens.

Now, as for does everyone agree, House Republicans do seem to agree on this, but not Senate Republicans. Listen to Senator James Lankford of Oklahoma.

Sen. James Lankford (R-OK):

I don't think anyone sees that it's going well at the border. I don't find Republicans, Democrats, independents, anyone that looks at the border and says, that's going well, that's being handled well.

Problem that Secretary Mayorkas has is that he's working for the president of the United States and these are the president's policies.

Lisa Desjardins:

He's saying this isn't about Mayorkas and his job. Let's focus on the border itself.

Also, Jonathan Turley, a well-known conservative legal scholar, said, you don't impeach someone for failure to do their job. But it does look like the House Republicans will do that. And I'm told as soon as the last week of this month, they could start voting on it.

Amna Nawaz:

So, when you take a step back, help us understand how this impeachment process and what's happening at the border all impact what's going on, on Capitol Hill right now.

Lisa Desjardins:

It is the keystone, Amna, to all of these major issues that will affect perhaps most of us in this country in the next month.

So, first of all, let me tell you why the pressure has mounted so much on this issue. Members are just coming back from their holiday breaks, many of them now finding that the migrant surge has affected more communities than it did before, cities dealing with populations of migrants. They are dealing with fentanyl overdoses.

I talked to one member of Congress, a senior Republican, who said he's been to five fentanyl funerals blamed on problems at the border. Now, when you look at that, let's talk about how this breaks down into issues and all of this tangible pressure on this one thing.

First of all, there are members, including in New York, New York members, who will say that their districts are now being affected directly by this. Now, then you talk about the issues here. No Ukraine funding will be passed, at least not right now, without any border changes. That's been tied — those two have been tied together for a month now, and that tie is getting even more strong.

Now, in addition to that, some conservatives are saying they will not pass any government spending until there are changes in border policy. And as you and I have been talking about, we have two government funding deadlines coming up, one in just nine days.

Amna Nawaz:

On that note, you have been reporting on the likelihood of a partial government shutdown in just over a week. What do we know?

Lisa Desjardins:

I'm afraid I have to say that it is much more likely today that we will see a partial government shutdown.

However, this is very fluid. It could easily change a week from now. The reason is that House conservatives especially have come back and said they do not like that top-line spending deal between Speaker Johnson and Democratic Leader in the Senate Chuck Schumer. They want bigger spending cuts, for one thing.

So, meanwhile, Speaker Johnson, Leader Schumer are trying to pass spending bills. They have to pass 12 of them by the 19th — about four of them, actually, by the 19th. So, all of this is very confusing. Four of them by the 19th.

It takes a week for the Senate to tie its own shoes, essentially. So we need probably a temporary spending bill to get through this. Speaker Johnson has said in past he won't do that.

Here's what he said today over whether he will give that temporary spending bill a chance.

Rep. Mike Johnson (R-LA):

I'm not ruling out anything, committing to anything other than getting these appropriations done. And I think we can. And we're pushing everybody hard.

Lisa Desjardins:

Yes, but pushing back are House conservatives, are putting his job on the line, saying, if you accept one of — this temporary spending bill, we may try to oust you, and also that we want a shutdown.

Here's someone who's not even in the Freedom Caucus, Brian Mast of Florida.

Where are you on whether a short-term C.R. is something you could stomach, or if you would rather risk a shutdown? What do you think?

Rep. Brian Mast (R-FL):

A shutdown is something that you have to be willing to risk, especially for the things that are on the line. We talk about for the last year border, border, border, not just this new calendar year, everything that's going on, the invasion of America. It's still not being addressed.

Lisa Desjardins:

Now, what I think we should take away from this is that conservatives are digging in on the House side toward a shutdown. They think there are advantages to it. They are the only ones in Congress that feel that, but they have the ability potentially to force Speaker Johnson into that position.

Amna Nawaz:

As if that wasn't enough, there was more news today on the Hill. You were covering a surprise appearance by Hunter Biden at a hearing about holding him in contempt. What should we know?

Lisa Desjardins:

That's right.

Hunter Biden has refused to give an interview behind closed doors, but he has said he will speak publicly to the committee investigating him and family ties for the Bidens. He showed up at the hearing today that was moving forward on contempt charges against him. He didn't speak at the committee. He would like to do that, but that's what this whole disagreement is about.

He was trying to say, listen, I'm willing to talk. But House Republicans say, no, we need to speak to you for longer and at more depth than we would have in a public hearing.

Essentially, what this was, was a piece of drama over something that's ongoing. I do think House Republicans will keep moving forward in impeachment, but this just adds to the drama and confusion.

Amna Nawaz:

Busy day on Capitol Hill. More busy days ahead.

Lisa Desjardins:

Yes.

Amna Nawaz:

Lisa Desjardins, thank you so much.

Lisa Desjardins:

You're welcome.