Rep. Ken Buck opposes effort to impeach Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas
Rep. Ken Buck, a Republican who represents Colorado's 4th Congressional District, is breaking ranks with his party again. He says he will not vote to impeach Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas.
Republicans pushing the impeachment vote accused Mayorkas of willfully disregarding federal immigration laws and breaching the public trust when it comes to his handling of the U.S.-Mexico border. Buck and others -- including the Wall Street Journal Editorial Board -- say that doesn't meet the high crimes and misdemeanors threshold for impeachment.
Another Republican, Rep. Tom McClintock, issued a word of warning. He said that the next time Democrats are in control of the House, if Republicans continue along this course Democrats will try to impeach Republican cabinet members or even conservative Supreme Court justices.
"This could really backfire on them," said CBS Colorado Political Specialist Shaun Boyd in a new episode of Left, Right, Center.
"I completely agree," CBS News Colorado Republican analyst Sandra Solin told Boyd. "This tit-for-tat, this building effect, will only come and serve to bite the Republicans. Any redefinition of impeachment will only serve to focus attention at the next Republican administration, at the Supreme Court. So I completely concur with (Buck's) comments."
"Even if the Republicans manage to get the votes in the House to impeach Mayorkas, it's going nowhere in the Senate," said Boyd. "Still, this highlights what a mess the situation is along the U.S.-Mexico border."
Boyd asked CBS News Colorado Democratic analyst Mike Dino how he thinks the border situation will impact the 2024 election.
"We've talked about it. It is the top issue when it's polled," Dino said. "The Republicans don't want Biden to have a win, so they've been holding up a deal that would send more money for border security."
Dino said he thought President Joe Biden "did a smart thing" when he dispatched top officials to Mexico City over the holidays for a meeting with President Andrés Manuel López Obrador.
"The challenge for the President Biden administration is to really put a good partnership together with Mexico. And we have seen a decline at the border because Mexico is stopping people from coming through the country to get to the border," Dino said. "And that is a big part of this. If they can keep people from coming through their country to get to the border, it will slow people coming to our border."
