Senate Democrats plan renewed push for Ukraine and Israel aid after House GOP debacle
Good morning, US politics blog readers. What a fiasco yesterday was for Republicans in Congress. First, the GOP turned against a deal they had demanded to impose hardline immigration policies and provide military aid to Ukraine and Israel, reportedly because Donald Trump wants to campaign on the issue. It was an embarrassing defeat for Mitch McConnell, the top Senate Republican who supports both countries’ causes. But whatever mortification he felt was eclipsed by the farce that occurred late in the day in the House of Representatives. The Republican speaker, Mike Johnson, barreled ahead with a floor vote on impeaching the homeland security secretary, Alejandro Mayorkas, thinking it had the support to pass. Little did he know that it, in fact, did not, after Democrats united against it and three Republicans defected. But Johnson’s bad night wasn’t over yet. He teed up a vote on a standalone package to fund Israel’s military, thinking he could sway the country’s Democratic backers into voting for it. They did not take the bait, and that legislation also failed to pass.
The House GOP has vowed to press on with the Mayorkas impeachment, bringing the measure back up as soon as today, though it remains unclear if they have the votes to actually do that. Meanwhile, the Senate’s Democratic leader Chuck Schumer is going on the offensive, reportedly by planning a vote on military aid to Israel and Ukraine, without the border crackdown the GOP, at one point, pressed for. We’ll see if that goes anywhere.
Here’s what else is happening today:
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Nikki Haley managed to come in second to “none of these candidates” in Nevada’s low-stakes presidential primary, raising further questions about the viability of her challenge to Trump for the Republican nomination.
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Matt Gaetz and Elise Stefanik, two big Trump fans in the House, plan to introduce a resolution saying that he did not engage in an insurrection.
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Trump yesterday was denied immunity by an appeals court for his alleged attempts to overturn the 2020 election. His campaign says he will appeal.
Key events
House members weren’t the only Republicans getting humiliated yesterday. As the Guardian’s Maanvi Singh reports, Nikki Haley managed to lose Nevada’s presidential primary to nobody:
Nikki Haley suffered an embarrassing defeat in Nevada’s Republican presidential primary contest, when she was beaten by the “none of these candidates” option, despite Donald Trump’s absence from the ballot.
Joe Biden, meanwhile, secured another primary victory after his nearest challenger, Marianne Williamson, registered only in the low single digits. The AP called the results about two hours after polls closed on a soggy and subdued election day in Nevada.
The “none of these candidates” option beat Nikki Haley in the state’s Republican presidential primary contest, the AP projected, an embarrassing result for the former UN ambassador who was the only major candidate on the ballot.
The race is essentially meaningless in the nominating process, however, as the big event for Republicans is on Thursday, when the GOP will hold caucuses with Donald Trump on the ballot that will determine the actual delegates sent to the Republican national convention.
House GOP pledges to try impeaching Mayorkas again, but may not be able to for days
Last night, House Republicans and their speaker, Mike Johnson, were humiliated when their attempt to impeach the homeland security chief, Alejandro Mayorkas, failed on the House floor. Here’s the moment Johnson personally delivered the bad news:
214-216: The GOP-led House vote to impeach DHS Sec. Alejandro Mayorkas over his handling of the U.S.-Mexico border fails. Four Republicans joined all Democrats in voting no.
This is the first time in U.S. history that an impeachment vote against a Cabinet member has failed. pic.twitter.com/pA7U0YufKy
— The Recount (@therecount) February 6, 2024
Those are Democrats you can hear cheering.
Nonetheless, Johnson’s spokesperson says the speaker will try again to bring charges against Mayorkas over his handling of migration at the southern border:
House Republicans fully intend to bring Articles of Impeachment against Secretary Mayorkas back to the floor when we have the votes for passage.
— Raj Shah (@RajShahDC) February 7, 2024
But when? The reason Republicans lost last night is that all Democratic lawmakers showed up to vote, while three of the GOP’s own members voted against impeachment. Republicans should be able to win a second vote once majority leader Steve Scalise returns from cancer treatment, but Politico reports he won’t be back until next week, at the earliest.
That creates the scenario of the impeachment effort’s fate becoming entwined with the 13 February special election in New York’s suburbs to fill the empty seat created after the House expelled fabulist George Santos. A victory by Republican Mazi Pilip could prove decisive to the success of a second impeachment vote – but if Democrat Tom Suozzi wins, Republicans could find that they once again don’t have the votes to succeed.
Senate Democrats plan renewed push for Ukraine and Israel aid after House GOP debacle
Good morning, US politics blog readers. What a fiasco yesterday was for Republicans in Congress. First, the GOP turned against a deal they had demanded to impose hardline immigration policies and provide military aid to Ukraine and Israel, reportedly because Donald Trump wants to campaign on the issue. It was an embarrassing defeat for Mitch McConnell, the top Senate Republican who supports both countries’ causes. But whatever mortification he felt was eclipsed by the farce that occurred late in the day in the House of Representatives. The Republican speaker, Mike Johnson, barreled ahead with a floor vote on impeaching the homeland security secretary, Alejandro Mayorkas, thinking it had the support to pass. Little did he know that it, in fact, did not, after Democrats united against it and three Republicans defected. But Johnson’s bad night wasn’t over yet. He teed up a vote on a standalone package to fund Israel’s military, thinking he could sway the country’s Democratic backers into voting for it. They did not take the bait, and that legislation also failed to pass.
The House GOP has vowed to press on with the Mayorkas impeachment, bringing the measure back up as soon as today, though it remains unclear if they have the votes to actually do that. Meanwhile, the Senate’s Democratic leader Chuck Schumer is going on the offensive, reportedly by planning a vote on military aid to Israel and Ukraine, without the border crackdown the GOP, at one point, pressed for. We’ll see if that goes anywhere.
Here’s what else is happening today:
-
Nikki Haley managed to come in second to “none of these candidates” in Nevada’s low-stakes presidential primary, raising further questions about the viability of her challenge to Trump for the Republican nomination.
-
Matt Gaetz and Elise Stefanik, two big Trump fans in the House, plan to introduce a resolution saying that he did not engage in an insurrection.
-
Trump yesterday was denied immunity by an appeals court for his alleged attempts to overturn the 2020 election. His campaign says he will appeal.