Mr. Golden was referring to ongoing closed-door negotiations between Senate Democrats led by Sen. Chris Murphy of Connecticut and Republicans led by Sen. James Lankford of Oklahoma. The talks reportedly have yielded a package of immigration reforms that includes a provision for closing the border only if 5,000 or more immigrants cross into the United States in one day. The deal would also include support for $110 billion in U.S. aid to Ukraine and Israel.
“The American people largely agree the border should be secured, and they are fed up with politicians’ antics. They want a deal done, and so do I. The reported deal between the White House and Senate negotiators may not be perfect, but it would go a long way toward securing the border and slowing the flow of migrants while ensuring our strategic allies in Israel and Ukraine have the tools they need to fend off Hamas and [Russian President Vladimir] Putin,” Mr. Golden said in his statement.
Mr. Johnson has said he expects the full House to vote on the Mayorkas impeachment articles “as soon as possible.”
“These 14 Democrats sent a clear message that they believe open borders are unacceptable. The next logical step for them is to vote to hold Secretary Mayorkas accountable. His refusal to comply with the law unleashed the unprecedented border crisis and breached the public trust in the process. So, these Democrats should have no trouble putting their money where their mouth is and voting to impeach Secretary Mayorkas.”
In addition to Mr. Golden, the other 13 Democrats who voted to condemn President Biden’s “open border” policies include Colin Allred of Texas, Yadira Caraveo of Colorado, Angie Craig of Minnesota, Henry Cuellar of Texas, Don Davis of North Carolina, Vicente Gonzalez of Texas, Greg Landsman of Ohio, Susie Lee of Nevada, Jared Moskowitz of Florida, Wiley Nickel of North Carolina, Mary Peltola of Alaska, Marie Perez of Washington, and Eric Sorensen of Illinois.
The Epoch Times has asked each of them how they plan to vote on the Mayorkas impeachment. Mr. Golden’s spokesman referred to the statement quoted above. A spokesman for Mr. Davis said he “evaluates legislation as it is presented on the House Floor. His current focus is on this week’s upcoming votes” on other issues.
Mr. Nickel told The Epoch Times that, “For too long, the border has been a talking point instead of a policy priority. Addressing the situation at the border and taking up comprehensive immigration reform should not be a Democrat or Republican issue. It’s an American issue. I remain focused on working in a bipartisan way to secure the border and pass comprehensive immigration reform through Congress. I’ll work with anyone to help save lives, improve security at the southern border, and make our communities safer.”
Spokesmen for the other 11 House Democrats had not responded by press time for this story.
The importance of how these 14 Members of the House of Representatives vote on the Mayorkas impeachment is emphasized by the extremely narrow Republican majority in the lower chamber of Congress. There are 219 Republicans and 213 Democrats, with three seats currently vacant. That means GOP leaders can lose the votes of no more than two of their members.
Two Republicans—Rep. Ken Buck of Colorado and Rep. Tom McClintock of California—reportedly are undecided on how they will vote on the Mayorkas issue.
As Majority Whip, Mr. Emmer is responsible for GOP Members to vote on the floor.
The two impeachment articles were approved by the Homeland Security panel at the end of a marathon 14-hour hearing on Tuesday in which every recorded vote on motions and amendments was won by Republicans on straight party-line votes of 18–15.
The hearing became rancorous as the hours dragged on, culminating with Rep. Robert Menendez (D-N.J.) accusing Republicans of moving the two articles out of allegiance to “the orange Jesus, as you call him,” an apparent reference to former President Donald Trump.
