Closing summary
The Senate’s long-running bipartisan negotiations over immigration rule changes meant to curb migrant arrivals on the southern border continue to face road blocks. Joe Biden endorsed the bargaining over the weekend and said he would “shut down the border”, but Republican House speaker Mike Johnson responded by arguing that the president already has the authority to stop migrants from crossing in from Mexico. The White House responded by pointing out all the times in the past Johnson has said the opposite, a war of words that has cast an ominous shadow on the prospects for passage of what the GOP has named as its price to support another round of aid to Ukraine, as well as to Israel.
Here’s what else happened today:
Michael Chertoff, a Republican former homeland security secretary, publicly opposes the House GOP’s plans to impeach the current officeholder, Alejandro Mayorkas.
A former IRS consultant who leaked Donald Trump’s tax returns was sentenced to five years in prison by a federal judge.
Biden met with his national security team after a strike blamed on Iran-backed militias killed three US service members in Jordan.
Rightwing figures such as Donald Trump Jr and Marjorie Taylor Greene also attacked the immigration policy negotiations.
The House sergeant at arms, its top law enforcement officer, is complying with a mysterious grand jury subpoena.
The House homeland security committee will consider the impeachment of Alejandro Mayorkas tomorrow, but it may not be until next week that the full chamber votes on the charges against him, Fox News reports:
1) Fox is told that the absolute earliest the impeachment articles for Mayorkas would hit the floor would be Tuesday, February 6. That’s because the GOP leadership is expected to whip the vote late this week and potentially make a decision about when it go over the weekend.
— Chad Pergram (@ChadPergram) January 29, 2024
2) The House Rules Committee would need to put to prep the articles of impeachment for the floor – possibly as early as Monday, February 5.
— Chad Pergram (@ChadPergram) January 29, 2024
But keep in mind, this has a LONG way to go yet and could bleed later into the week or beyond.
Interestingly, Fox News reports that House Republican leaders are concerned they may not have the votes to impeach the homeland security chief:
3) The problem: There are a few House GOPers who have outright objections to impeachment. Remember, this is about the math. The GOP can now only lose two votes and still pass any measure on their own.
— Chad Pergram (@ChadPergram) January 29, 2024
Yesterday, Michael Chertoff, a Republican who served as homeland security secretary under George W Bush, said he was opposed to impeaching Mayorkas, arguing that the House GOP was reacting to “policy disagreements” rather than the constitution’s bar of “high crimes and misdemeanors”.
