When Republicans won control of the U.S. House in the 2022 elections, we expected they would use their power to push politically motivated investigations. And indeed they have done just that, starting with the wasteful and pointless exercise of gathering evidence to impeach Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas for his supposed mismanagement of U.S. border strategy.
It’s no surprise considering Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., has been clamoring since last year for Mayorkas to resign or face impeachment proceedings. Articles of impeachment were filed in early January, but the GOP effort gained steam last week with a House Homeland Security committee hearing about the effect of U.S.-Mexico border policies.
Among the cast of characters testifying Tuesday was a Michigan mom who spoke about the fentanyl-related deaths of her two sons. Rebecca Kiessling’s story was compelling, and one with which many parents can sympathize. Except that her sons died in July 2020 during the Trump administration and several months before President Joe Biden appointed Mayorkas. Asked about the factual inconsistency, a spokesman for Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., who sits on the Homeland Security committee, told CNN reporter Daniel Dale in colorful language that, essentially, facts are irrelevant in this case.
