Closing summary
Republicans have launched their impeachment inquiry against Alejandro Mayorkas, with a House committee chair saying the homeland security secretary “has willfully and systematically refused to comply with the laws”. Democrats, meanwhile, showed no interest in the charges against Mayorkas, which one lawmaker compared to “throwing spaghetti at the wall and seeing what sticks”. Elsewhere in the House, speaker Mike Johnson reportedly told his lawmakers that the much-discussed Senate immigration deal – which still has not been made public and may never be – is “absolutely dead” in his chamber. Johnson was to speak on the House floor this afternoon, but put that off till tomorrow.
Here’s what else happened today:
Cori Bush announced the justice department was investigating her, and said allegations she misspent federal funds meant for her security were “simply false”.
The White House accused Johnson of hypocrisy for his reported opposition to the Senate’s immigration policy negotiations.
Joe Biden said he was “fine” with Donald Trump appearing on presidential ballots. Lawsuits have been filed in several states to remove him, arguing he broke the law by being involved in the January 6 insurrection.
House Democrats accused the GOP of sabotaging the Senate’s immigration policy negotiations to help Trump’s presidential campaign.
A pro-Biden Super Pac will reportedly buy what it says is a record $250m in advertisements to support his re-election in seven battleground states.
A Super Pac supporting Joe Biden’s re-election bid is making what it says is the largest ever advertising purchase by such a group, the New York Times reports.
Future Forward will spend $250m on advertisements in seven states that it sees as this year’s biggest battlegrounds: Michigan, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, North Carolina, Nevada, Georgia and Arizona. The $140m in television ads and $110m in digital and streaming ads will begin airing after the conclusion of the Democratic National Convention in August, and continue through election day.
“We’ll run a cost-effective and data-driven program of unprecedented scale to re-elect Joe Biden,” said Chauncey McLean, the president of the Super Pac.
The ads will be particularly targeted at the sorts of voters Biden will need to win another term, but who have shown signs of drifting away from the president, including Black and Hispanic voters, and young people.
Another attempt to keep Donald Trump off primary ballots, this time in Illinois, has failed, the Guardian’s Alice Herman reports:
The Illinois board of elections has voted unanimously to keep Donald Trump on its primary ballot, rejecting objections brought by voters who challenged Trump’s eligibility on grounds that he had aided in insurrection on January 6.
The decision was made on narrow procedural grounds, and is almost certain to be appealed. It is just the latest in a mixed series of official rulings on whether Trump can appear on the ballot amid a wave of challenges to his candidacy in multiple states.
Officials in Colorado and Maine have ruled that Trump cannot appear on their ballots, though those decisions are facing further legal challenges, while Illinois becomes the latest state where officials have rejected attempts to boot Trump from the ballot.
The US supreme court has scheduled oral arguments on this question for next week, and will likely have the final say on whether Trump is constitutionally ineligible to run for president because of his actions leading up to the January 6 attack at the US Capitol.
White House hammers Johnson over border negotiation objections
The White House is none too pleased with Republican House speaker Mike Johnson’s latest reported comments that he would reject an immigration policy compromise under negotiation in the Senate.
“Today, Speaker Johnson claimed he believes action should be taken to secure the border. Yet it is House Republicans who are saying they will block an historic bipartisan border security deal supported by President Biden that will deliver much-needed law enforcement hiring and investments in cutting-edge technology to stop fentanyl trafficking,” White House spokesman Andrew Bates said.
He went on to again accuse Johnson of hypocrisy on the issue:
Like the Speaker said in October, ‘we must come together and address the broken border.’ And like Speaker Johnson then said in November, ‘I think we can get bipartisan agreement’ on ‘border security.’ That’s exactly what President Biden and Republicans and Democrats in the Senate are doing. Speaker Johnson should join them.
Once again: the immigration policy bill is under negotiation in the Senate, but its provisions have not yet been made public.
Congresswoman Cori Bush just appeared on the steps of the Capitol, where she read to reporters the statement she released earlier this afternoon acknowledging she was under federal investigation but denying ever misusing taxpayer funds.
Bush departed without taking questions. Earlier in the day, Pete Aguilar, the chair of the House Democratic Caucus, declined to comment on reports that the Missouri progressive was under federal investigation:
Reporter: “Do you have any comment on the reports that Rep. Cori Bush is under federal investigation?”
— The Recount (@therecount) January 30, 2024
House Dems Caucus Chair Pete Aguilar (D-CA): “That’s something for the Justice Department. I know what you guys have put out ... That’s all I have. I don’t have anything more.” pic.twitter.com/Hp4uT1epYu
The House homeland security committee is expected to advance the articles of impeachment against Alejandro Mayorkas to the chamber’s floor. Here’s the Guardian’s Joan E Greve with a recap of the day’s hearing, which will resume soon:
A House committee convened Tuesday to consider two articles of impeachment against the homeland security secretary, Alejandro Mayorkas, who attacked Republicans’ accusations against him as “false”, “baseless” and “inaccurate”.
In a letter sent to the Republican chair of the House Committee on Homeland Security just hours before the markup hearing began, Mayorkas dismissed the impeachment process as “politically motivated”. House Republicans have presented no clear evidence that Mayorkas committed high crimes and misdemeanors, which is the requirement for impeachment, but their resolution accuses the cabinet secretary of refusing to comply with the law and breaching public trust.
“I have been privileged to serve our country for most of my professional life. I have adhered scrupulously and fervently to the oath of office I have taken six times in my public service career,” Mayorkas wrote in his letter. “I assure you that your false accusations do not rattle me and do not divert me from the law enforcement and broader public service mission to which I have devoted most of my career and to which I remain devoted.”
Asked about the fate of the immigration policy negotiations, which the GOP has linked to their support for more funding for Ukraine, the Senate’s top Republican Mitch McConnell told Politico bargaining was ongoing:
McConnell on Ukraine/border supplemental package as it faces uncertain future: “we’re working on it”
— Burgess Everett (@burgessev) January 30, 2024
His counterpart in the House, Mike Johnson, has offered a far bleaker assessment.
Wesley Bell, who is running against Cori Bush for her House seat, said the investigation is a “serious matter”.
The St. Louis prosecutor told The Kansas City Star, “I entered this race because I believe the people of this district deserve a representative they can trust who will show up and get results for them. I feel more strongly about that than ever.”
Max Cohen, from Punchbowl News, who first broke the news of the investigation into Bush, tweeted this:
I asked Cori Bush about the investigation directly last night. She repeatedly declined to comment and reprimanded me for approaching her as she had a toothache. https://t.co/Vskods0WYE
— Max Cohen (@maxpcohen) January 30, 2024
Cori Bush confirms justice department investigation, says allegations 'simply false'
Congresswoman Cori Bush confirmed that she is under investigation by the justice department, and denied that she has misused federal money for security services.
“I hold myself, my campaign, and my position to the highest levels of integrity. I also believe in transparency which is why I can confirm that the Department of Justice is reviewing my campaign’s spending on security services,” said Bush, a member of “The Squad” group of progressive Democratic women.
“Since before I was sworn into office, I have endured relentless threats to my physical safety and life. As a rank-and-file member of Congress I am not entitled to personal protection by the House, and instead have used campaign funds as permissible to retain security services. I have not used any federal tax dollars for personal security services. Any reporting that I have used federal funds for personal security is simply false.”
Bush, who represents the St Louis, Missouri area, decried what she said were untrue rightwing attacks aimed at her husband’s role in providing security services:
In recent months, right-wing organizations have lodged baseless complaints against me, peddling notions that I have misused campaign funds to pay for personal security services. That is simply not true. I have complied with all applicable laws and House rules–and will continue to prioritize the rules that govern us as federal elected officials.
In particular, the nature of these allegations have been around my husband’s role on the campaign. In accordance with all applicable rules, I retained my husband as part of my security team to provide security services because he has had extensive experience in this area, and is able to provide the necessary services at or below a fair market rate.
The day so far
Republicans have launched their impeachment inquiry against Alejandro Mayorkas, with a House committee chair saying the homeland security secretary “has willfully and systematically refused to comply with the laws”. Democrats, meanwhile, showed no interest in the charges against Mayorkas, which one lawmaker compared to “throwing spaghetti at the wall and seeing what sticks”. Elsewhere in the House, speaker Mike Johnson reportedly told his lawmakers that the much-discussed Senate immigration deal – which still has not been made public and may never be – is “absolutely dead” in his chamber. Johnson was to speak on the House floor this afternoon, but put that off till tomorrow.
Here’s what else is going on today:
The justice department is investigating congresswoman Cori Bush, a member of “The Squad” of progressive Democrats, for allegedly misusing federal dollars intended for her security, Punchbowl News reports.
Joe Biden said he was “fine” with Donald Trump appearing on presidential ballots. Lawsuits have been filed in several states to remove him, arguing he broke the law by being involved in the January 6 insurrection.
House Democrats accused the GOP of sabotaging the Senate’s immigration policy negotiations to help Trump’s presidential campaign.
The House homeland security committee’s markup of the articles of impeachment against Alejandro Mayorkas is taking a break until 1.30pm.
The hearing was a predictably partisan affair from the start, with Republican members of the panel using their time to outline the reasonz they believe the homeland security chief should be removed from office. Democrats, in turn, took issue with the charges against Mayorkas, saying they don’t meet the constitution’s bar for impeachment.
In the words of Texas Democrat Sheila Jackson Lee, the GOP is simply seeking “revenge” against Mayorkas. Here’s more of what she had to say:
Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee (D-TX) on House Homeland Security Committee considering impeachment against DHS Sec. Mayorkas:
— The Recount (@therecount) January 30, 2024
“We're being fooled that work is being done against an individual for treason, bribery, or other high crimes and misdemeanors … Revenge ... is why we’re here.” pic.twitter.com/iD0mtT6gqr
And it turns out that Mike Johnson will not be addressing the House today.
The speaker’s office says he instead speak around 12pm tomorrow, Wednesday.
We are expecting Republican House speaker Mike Johnson to soon address the chamber, amid reports he is ready to oppose whatever deal may emerge from ongoing bipartisan negotiations aimed at tightening immigration policy to curb migrant arrivals at the southern border.
The collapse of the talks would imperil Joe Biden’s campaign to win Republican support for another round of military aid to Ukraine, as well as assistance to Israel’s military.
We will let you know what Johnson has to say.
Updated
House Democrats accuse GOP of neglecting border security to help 'Donald Trump become president again'
With the Senate’s bipartisan immigration policy negotiations on life support even before a deal is reached, a top House Democrat has accused Republicans of bargaining in “bad faith” and sacrificing border security fixes to help Donald Trump’s presidential campaign.
Ever since he took office, Republicans in both chambers have criticized Joe Biden’s handling of asylum seekers and migrants arriving from Mexico. Amid reports that the party’s leaders want to reject the Senate’s attempt to address the issue, House Democratic caucus chair Pete Aguilar said today:
The floor speeches, the photo ops, the constant attacks were always done in bad faith. And now, everyone can see that this was never about securing the border, this was never about migrants, this was never about protecting our country. Just like the baseless impeachments and everything else the Maga Republicans have pretended to care about, it has always been about helping Donald Trump become president again.
Here are his full remarks:
“They got their marching orders … They’re abdicating their responsibility … Even Mitch McConnell has surrendered to Vladimir Putin and he surrendered to Donald Trump.”
— The Recount (@therecount) January 30, 2024
— House Dems Caucus Chair Pete Aguilar (D-CA) says GOP’s walking away from deal on border, Israel, & Ukraine pic.twitter.com/1TAGoOpot3
Joe Biden is spending today attending two campaign events in Florida, but as he departed the White House, reporters asked him to weigh in on various things.
Including the challenges in various states to Donald Trump’s presence on the presidential ballot. Trump is the frontrunner for the Republican presidential nomination, but groups have sued to keep him off the ballot, arguing he violated the constitution with his involvement in the January 6 insurrection.
Biden, who polls show may face a tight race against Trump come November, didn’t have much to say about those challenges. Here is video of the president’s comments:
Reporter: “Should Donald Trump be allowed on the ballot?”
— The Recount (@therecount) January 30, 2024
President Biden: “As far as I’m concerned, that’s fine.” pic.twitter.com/3OygKdEqS7
Earlier today, Republican House speaker Mike Johnson denied that he opposed the Senate’s bipartisan immigration talks because Donald Trump wants to campaign on his own hardline approach to the issue.
Last week, it was reported that the Senate’s top Republican, Mitch McConnell, told his lawmakers behind closed doors that even if the negotiations lead to an agreement, he may not support it so that Trump can run on immigration reform. While McConnell later reportedly walked those comments back, it bodes ill for Congress’s chances of passing legislative fixes to one of the most contentious issues in American politics months in a presidential election year.
Here’s more from Johnson’s remarks today:
CNN’s @mkraju: “Have you spoken to [Trump] about the Senate [border] proposal, and are you simply trying to kill this to help him out in the campaign?”
— The Recount (@therecount) January 30, 2024
House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA): “No, Manu, that’s absurd.” pic.twitter.com/F6L3EKztyP
Justice department investigating progressive Democrat Cori Bush - report
Punchbowl News reports that the justice department has opened a criminal investigation into progressive House Democrat Cori Bush for misspending federal money intended for her security:
🚨BREAKING NEWS -- THE JUSTICE DEPARTMENT is conducting a criminal probe into @CoriBush, according to six sources familiar with the investigation.
— Jake Sherman (@JakeSherman) January 30, 2024
The Justice Department subpoenaed the House Sergeant at Arms for records relating to the misspending of federal security money.…
The report comes after the House clerk yesterday announced that the sergeant at arms, the chamber’s top law enforcement official, had received a grand jury subpoena for an undisclosed matter.
A member of “The Squad” of progressive female lawmakers, Bush is the first Black woman to represent a Missouri district in Congress. She spoke to the Guardian’s David Smith about her experience in 2022:
Updated
Mike Johnson may make his opposition to the immigration compromise official this afternoon.
The Republican House speaker announced he would make a floor speech – his first since being elected the chamber’s leader – at 12.30pm.
On Friday, Johnson strongly hinted that he would oppose the deal, telling Republicans, “if rumors about the contents of the draft proposal are true, it would have been dead on arrival in the House anyway”. The text of the deal hasn’t been released yet, but if Johnson makes good on his threats, it will greatly complicate efforts to pass military aid to Ukraine and Israel.
Here’s more about Johnson’s opposition:
Republican House speaker Johnson declares Senate immigration deal 'dead' - report
Republican speaker of the House Mike Johnson told his lawmakers that an immigration policy compromise under negotiation in the Senate that is seen as crucial to getting military aid to Ukraine and Israel approved is “absolutely dead” in his chamber, CNN reports.
The comment comes from rightwing lawmaker Marjorie Taylor Greene, who has already rejected the measures that a bipartisan group of senators are reportedly bargaining over:
Senate border compromise hasn’t been released yet but Speaker Johnson has already declared it dead, according to members leaving conference meeting.
— Manu Raju (@mkraju) January 30, 2024
“I just heard Speaker Johnson saying it's absolutely dead, which is what I wanted to hear,” MTG told me. “As a matter of fact, he…
Greene’s remarks bode ill for the compromise, the text of which has not yet been released. Republicans have demanded changes to the immigration system to cut down on undocumented migrants crossing in from Mexico, in exchange for their support for Joe Biden’s proposal to help the militaries of both Ukraine and Israel.
If the House indeed rejects the compromise legislation, it’s unclear how Ukraine aid, which is opposed by rightwing Republicans, will be approved by Congress.
Thompson then moved to adjourn the hearing, which would delay the committee’s effort to impeach Mayorkas.
But the motion was voted down by the committee’s Republican majority, all 18 of whom voted against it. The 14 Democrats present voted in favor.
In his opening statement, Bennie Thompson, the top Democrat on the committee, compared the Republicans’ allegations against Alejandro Mayorkas to “throwing spaghetti at the wall and seeing what sticks”.
“This is a terrible day for the committee, the United States constitution and our great country. Republican members of Congress, sworn to support and defend the constitution, are rejecting the framers’ clear intent, and over two centuries of precedent in favor of a sham impeachment,” Thompson said.
He then went on to call out the homeland security committee’s rightwing members for ginning up charges against the secretary:
The sham impeachment of Secretary Mayorkas is a baseless political stunt by extreme Maga Republicans. Chairman Green, representative (Marjorie) Taylor Greene and others have pushed for, and even fundraised, based on this preplanned, predetermined scapegoating of the secretary in a process akin to throwing spaghetti at the wall and seeing what sticks. Republicans have cooked up vague, unprecedented grounds to impeach secretary Mayorkas refusal to follow the law and a breach of public trust.
Green opened the hearing with an attack on Mayorkas.
“We’re here today not because we want to be, but because we have exhausted all other options, and our duty as members of Congress compels us to exercise our constitutional duty and defend this separate but equal branch of government,” the Tennessee Republican said.
He went on:
At the beginning of this Congress, each of us took an oath to support and defend the constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic, and that we would well and faithfully discharge the duties of the office. This is same oath I took many years ago in the army. Several of you also took the same oath in your service to this nation.
Homeland security secretary Alejandro Mayorkas took a similar oath, but he has not lived up to it. He has willfully and systematically refused to comply with the laws passed by Congress and breached the trust of Congress and the American people. The results have been catastrophic, and have endangered the lives and livelihoods of all Americans.
Homeland security committee begins Mayorkas impeachment hearing
Republican chair Mark Green just gaveled in the House homeland security committee’s hearing into the articles of impeachment against Alejandro Mayorkas.
Green is giving his opening statement right now.
Updated
Over the weekend, a Republican former homeland security secretary came out against the impeachment of Alejandro Mayorkas.
“Political and policy disagreements aren’t impeachable offenses,” Michael Chertoff wrote in the Wall Street Journal. “The Constitution gives Congress the power to impeach federal officials for treason, bribery and ‘other high Crimes and Misdemeanors.’ That’s a high bar. In the history of our republic, only one cabinet secretary has been impeached (for receiving corrupt kickback payments).”
He continued:
As homeland security secretary under President George W Bush – and as a former federal judge, US attorney and assistant attorney general – I can say with confidence that, for all the investigating that the House Committee on Homeland Security has done, they have failed to put forth evidence that meets the bar.
This is why Republicans aren’t seeking to hold Mr Mayorkas to the Constitution’s ‘high crimes and misdemeanors’ standard for impeachment. They make the unsupported argument that he is derelict in his duty.
Updated
Alejandro Mayorkas is not expected to attend the House homeland security committee’s markup today of the article of impeachment against him.
The hearing appears set to be a debate over the allegations among the panel’s Republican majority and Democratic minority. Mayorkas nonetheless sent the committee’s chair, Mark Green, a letter this morning, in which he aired a number of grievances about the process. Among them, the homeland security says the panel’s lawmakers have already made up their minds about the charges, and turned down an offer from him to testify:
On January 5, 2024, you sent a letter to me requesting that I again appear before the House Homeland Security Committee to provide testimony. I have testified before this Committee seven times. I agreed to testify again and asked to work with your staff to identify a mutually agreeable date. You did not respond to my request, changed course, and instead invited me to submit written testimony. Two days later, you issued a statement representing that every member of the Committee’s majority already had rendered their decision. I respectfully submit this letter in response.
Green released his own statement this morning, where he said: “Secretary Mayorkas’ 11th-hour response to the Committee is inadequate and unbecoming of a Cabinet secretary. Our investigation has established that Secretary Mayorkas has willfully and systemically refused to comply with the laws of the United States and breached the public trust.”
Updated
Mayorkas not the only target of House impeachment campaign
It’s not just the homeland security chief Alejandro Mayorkas that House Republicans are going after.
The party is also considering impeaching Joe Biden for alleged corruption, but that effort appears to be on the backburner at the moment, perhaps because lawmakers have not turned up any proof of their allegations. Last month, Republicans held a vote on the House floor to authorize the investigation, months after a disastrous hearing in which their own witnesses said they did not know if the president broke the law. It’s unclear when the House GOP’s next move will occur.
Both the Biden and Mayorkas impeachments suffer from the same problem: uncertainty over whether the GOP has the votes in the House to impeach both men. Regardless, any impeachment article sent to the Senate are expected to quickly be rejected by the chamber’s Democratic majority, which has shown no sign of wanting to convict their own president, or his deputies.
Updated
Homeland security chief Mayorkas decries 'false accusations' as Republicans kick off impeachment bid
Good morning, US politics blog readers. House Republicans are finally following through on their much-discussed push to impeach the homeland security secretary, Alejandro Mayorkas, who they blame for mishandling security on the southern border. Beginning at 10am ET, the House homeland security committee will consider two articles of impeachment against Mayorkas, and, assuming they approve them, a vote by the full House of Representatives could come next week.
This is unlikely to be a process that results in Mayorkas losing his job. Impeachments of cabinet secretaries are rare, and even if the House approves the charges, the Democratic-controlled Senate has shown no interest in pursuing his conviction. In a seven-page letter to the committee’s Republican chair, Mark Green, released today, Mayorkas defended his handling of the surge in migrants arriving from Mexico, and told Green that his “false accusations do not rattle me”. Meanwhile, we are still waiting for the details of a legislative compromise to tighten immigration policy in a way that would reduce the number of migrants entering the country, which Republicans say they want passed in exchange for their votes for aid to Ukraine and Israel, though it’s unclear if even that will be enough.
Here’s what else is going on today:
Joe Biden is heading to Miami and Jupiter, Florida, for two campaign events in what Democrats once regarded as a swing state, but where the party has been ailing for the past few years.
Mike Pompeo, the former secretary of state under Donald Trump, and Leon Panetta, the former defense secretary under Barack Obama, will testify before a House committee investigating the Chinese Communist party.
A mysterious subpoena announced yesterday by the House clerk concerns a Democratic lawmaker who allegedly misused government money, Punchbowl News reports. They did not say who the lawmaker is.
Updated
