Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) said Monday she may force a vote on President Biden’s impeachment over the situation at the southern border this week, a threat that comes as the president prepares to launch a highly anticipated order that would crack down on the US-Mexico border.
Greene told reporters Monday night that she would force a vote on her articles of impeachment that night, but decided to delay to speak first with House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.). She warned, however, that she could trigger the resolution as soon as this week.
“Right here, privileged impeachment resolution,” Greene told reporters, waving the articles. “I can force a vote this week. But you know what, I was going to do it tonight, but I decided I’m going to talk to our Republican Speaker-elect of the House, Mike Johnson, who actually voted for the claims that he supports Trump, and ask him if he’s going to do something about it. .”
Pressed on what would happen if Johnson refused to put the articles of impeachment to a vote, Greene said she would force a vote.
“I’m going to let them drop to the floor and then we can vote and see where everyone stands,” she told reporters. “I’m angry. I didn’t come here to hang out with everyone and say, ‘Oh, hey, guys’. I mean, my people at home are angry. Everyone in this country is angry. We don’t want a banana republic – we want a legitimate and real. We want a real justice system. We don’t have one right now.”
Greene could call her impeachment resolution as early as Tuesday, after which leadership would have two legislative days to vote on the measure. It is likely, however, that the chamber will vote on a motion to table the resolution or refer it to committee — which was the case last June when Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-Colorado) forced a vote on her impeachment resolution from Biden. beyond the border.
Greene’s threat came a day before Biden signed an executive order that would end asylum requests at the border if the average number of daily encounters reaches 2,500 at ports of entry.
It’s a plan that closely reflects a policy initially laid out in legislation from a bipartisan group of senators that was negotiated with the White House. Conservatives quickly sank the law.
It also comes in the wake of accusations from some Republicans that Biden should use his executive authority to enact tougher border policies, although it is unclear whether the move is legal and immigration rights groups have pledged to sue.
The move comes as the border continues to dominate conversations during the campaign, with voters saying it is one of their main issues in the run-up to the November elections.
Republicans have criticized Biden’s plans to issue an executive order, arguing he is acting for political reasons. Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) on “Fox News Sunday” called the planned change “too late.”
Greene’s resolution closely resembles an earlier resolution drafted to remove Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas — another initiative that the Republican Party had difficulty passing, although it eventually succeeded.
The legislation accuses Biden of violating his oath of office and failing to follow immigration laws.
It’s an argument that has many of the same pitfalls as Mayorkas’ articles of impeachment.
As with Mayorkas, the resolution accuses Biden of failing to maintain operational control of the border. But the law cited in the bill, the Secure Fence Act, set a standard of perfection that no president or secretary of Homeland Security has met – mandating that compliance should only be met when no person or contraband illegally crosses the border.
Greene’s resolution also questions Biden’s approach to immigration in general, saying he has violated the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA), both with his policies and by failing to detain all migrants crossing the border.
But no president has ever detained all migrants crossing the border, as the US simply does not have the capacity to do so. And immigration law experts previously disputed claims that the Biden administration’s policies violated the INA, ruling that the administration’s policies fell within the bounds of the law.
Greene, however, writes that Biden “failed to enact policies and created an environment of lawlessness to the manifest detriment of the people of the United States.”
“President Biden has created a national security crisis and is endangering the lives of ordinary Americans with his open border policies,” the resolution states.
If Greene proceeds with a vote on her impeachment resolution, it will be the second time in this Congress that the House will be forced to hastily weigh in on articles of impeachment against Biden.
Boebert forced a vote on her resolution to impeach Biden over his handling of the U.S.-Mexico border and immigration policy. The Chamber ended up voting to forward the resolution to the Judiciary and Homeland Security committees, avoiding a direct vote on the accusations against the president.
Boebert’s decision, however, emerged as a point of contention in the bitter relationship between her and Greene. The Daily Beast reported at the time that Greene accused Boebert of copying her articles of impeachment against Biden. Boebert approached Greene about these statements amid votes, and at one point Greene called Boebert a “little idiot,” according to the report.
Greene later confirmed the conversation and said The Daily Beast’s story was “strikingly accurate.”
This story originally appeared on thehill.com read the full story
