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Colorado Republican Rep. Ken Buck came out solidly against the effort to impeach Homeland Security Sec. Alejandro Mayorkas – a defection that could potentially kill the effort. 

‘It’s maladministration. He’s terrible, the border is a disaster, but that’s not impeachable,’ Buck told reporters on Thursday, later adding that he was ‘not changing [his] mind.’ 

‘The people that I’m talking to on the outside, constitutional experts, former members, agree that this just isn’t an impeachable offense,’ Buck said. 

House GOP leadership has insisted they will bring the impeachment up for a vote next week. And after a 15-hour Homeland Security markup, Buck’s opposition could be a death knell if combined with the two current Republican absences in the House. 

Colorado Republican Rep. Ken Buck came out solidly against the effort to impeach Homeland Security Sec. Alejandro Mayorkas - a defection that could potentially kill the effort

Colorado Republican Rep. Ken Buck came out solidly against the effort to impeach Homeland Security Sec. Alejandro Mayorkas – a defection that could potentially kill the effort

'It's maladministration. He's terrible, the border is a disaster, but that's not impeachable,' Buck told reporters of Mayorkas

‘It’s maladministration. He’s terrible, the border is a disaster, but that’s not impeachable,’ Buck told reporters of Mayorkas 

As Speaker Mike Johnson put it earlier this week, ‘We have only a tiny, as you know, razor thin, actually a one-vote majority right now in the House.’

Majority Leader Steve Scalise, R-La., is out due to cancer treatment and Rep. Hal Rogers, R-Ky., is recovering from a car accident. 

Other Republicans could possibly oppose the measure. Rep. Tom McClintock, R-Calif., has said he not decided how he’ll vote. 

The impeachment articles passed out of the Homeland Security Committee this week on party lines. 

Republicans moved forward two articles of impeachment against Biden’s border chief Mayorkas – one accusing him of willfully subverting immigration laws through catch-and-release and another accusing him of obstructing and lying to Congress. 

Republicans cite Mayorkas’ ‘willful and systemic refusal to comply with the law’ as hundreds of migrants continue to flood into the U.S. every day. 

They contend Mayorkas is guilty of ‘high crimes and misdemeanors’ that amount to a ‘refusal to comply with the law’ on immigration and a ‘breach of the public trust.’ 

The impeachment resolution stated: ‘Alejandro N. Mayorkas willfully and systemically refused to comply with the immigration laws, failed to control the border to the detriment of national security, compromised public safety, and violated the rule of law and separation of powers in the Constitution, to the manifest injury of the people of the United States. 

Passage requires only a House majority. The Senate would hold a trial, and a two-thirds vote is required for conviction, an exceedingly unlikely outcome in the Democratic-run Senate.

Over 250,000 migrants were apprehended at the southern border in December

Over 250,000 migrants were apprehended at the southern border in December  

Over 250,000 migrant apprehensions were made at the southern border in December, according to official Department of Homeland Security figures – an all-time record. 

Even moderates, who in previous months have been more hesitant to commit to impeaching a Biden Cabinet member, are now seemingly on board.

They say they aren’t worried about thwarting bipartisan Senate immigration negotiations because they have no faith that the Senate, which is working with Mayorkas, will come up with a meaningful deal. 

Rep. Mike Garcia, R-Calif., said his understanding of the deal is that it has ‘very little to do with border security and more to do with immigration processes.’

‘If we were to not impeach Mayorkas,’ he told reporters, ‘I don’t still I don’t then see the president coming to the table and seeing that as an olive branch to come actually do something meaningful.’

‘I think they can both happen at the same time,’ Rep. Dan Newhouse, R-Wash., said of Senate negotiations and impeachment.  

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This post first appeared on Daily mail