by Republicans in Congress suffered a humiliating series of setbacks Tuesday on critical elements of their agenda, turning Capitol Hill into a den of dysfunction that has left several important issues, including U.S. military aid to Ukraine and Israel, in limbo amid of political disputes.
As Republicans in the Senate torpedoed a border deal they had demanded, their House counterparts’ attempt to impeach Alejandro N. Mayorkas, the secretary of Homeland Security, collapsed amid Republican defections.
Then came one last forceful blow. Minutes after Republicans fell one vote short of impeaching Mayorkas (a punishment the party has promised its base since gaining the majority), the House of Representatives defeated legislation they introduced to send $17.6 billion in aid military to Israel. The measure fell under opposition from Democrats, who called it a cynical political ploy to undermine efforts to pass a broader foreign military aid bill that includes Ukraine. They were joined by a group of far-right Republicans, who opposed the measure because the money was not accompanied by spending cuts.
Taken together, the events that unfolded at the Capitol on Tuesday offered a vivid portrait of the disarray in Congress instigated by Republicans, who are hell-bent on opposing President Biden at every turn but lack a large enough majority or the unity to enforce his will.
They have sought to kill bipartisan efforts to send more military aid to Ukraine and forge a compromise to secure the border against an influx of migrants, proposing instead to help only Israel and push for the dismissal of Biden’s top immigration official. Tuesday’s back-to-back losses showed that while they are experts at thwarting action on critical issues, they are hard-pressed to address any of them.
The paralysis left the fate of aid to Ukraine and Israel in jeopardy, closing what had been seen as the best avenue left on Capitol Hill for approving critical military assistance to American allies. A sweeping measure that includes both is expected to fail in a test vote in the Senate on Wednesday, raising immediate questions about whether Congress could salvage the emergency aid package and, if so, how.
And it was a disastrous day for President Mike Johnson, about 100 days into his term, highlighting his slim majority and the unwieldy nature of his conference.
In a statement, Johnson blamed Democrats for opposing aid to Israel, which he said sent a “rebuke to our closest ally in the Middle East in its time of great need.” He said Republicans had only introduced an Israel aid bill without spending cuts as “a major concession” given “the severity of the situation.”
But he left the Capitol without addressing what appeared to be a calamitous miscalculation in the impeachment vote, which had been little more than a political exercise given that the Democratic-led Senate was certain to acquit Mayorkas.
Instead of a show of Republican unity to impeach Biden’s top immigration official, the vote became an extraordinary scene of chaos in the House of Representatives that highlighted the disarray of the GOP, as leaders sought support to push charges against Mayorkas, but were thwarted by his small majority.
They promised to try again on Wednesday.
“House Republicans have every intention of reintroducing the articles of impeachment against Secretary Mayorkas when we have the votes for their approval,” Raj Shah, Johnson’s spokesman, wrote on social media.
Tuesday’s failure underscored Republican divisions over impeachment. Three Republican lawmakers opposed the resolution, warning that it would set a dangerous precedent by impeaching administration officials over political differences.
In a dramatic denouement, Democrats led Rep. Al Green of Texas, still in a hospital gown after undergoing emergency surgery, to vote against the bill after missing earlier votes. That stalled the recount, dooming the impeachment attempt, which required a simple majority to be approved, to failure.
Far-right Republicans were furious and expressed bewilderment that their leaders did not appear to know exactly what their vote count would be in an important vote.
“I thought you would know,” said Rep. Ralph Norman of South Carolina. “It is not so difficult”.
Norman laughed when asked how he could explain the vote to his constituents.
“The conservative base is going to have a real problem with this,” he said. “And they should.”
Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia, who led the charge to remove Mayorkas, said she expected House Republican leaders to hold the vote again in the coming days after calling Rep. Steve Scalise of Louisiana, the No. 2 Republican. , back to Washington. Scalise had been outside the Capitol recovering from treatment for multiple myeloma.
Greene predicted that the Republicans who sunk the measure would “listen to their constituents.”
The dysfunction will continue Wednesday in the Senate, when Republicans are expected to block a bill tying a border commitment to aid to Israel and Ukraine, after a majority of its members, including those who led the effort to negotiate it , they turned against the pack. which House Republicans refused to consider amid opposition from former President Donald J. Trump.
“Joe Biden will never enforce any new laws and refuses to use the tools he already has today to end this crisis,” said Sen. John Barrasso of Wyoming, the No. 3 Republican. “I cannot vote for this bill. “Americans will turn to the next election to end the border crisis.”
Kayla Guo and Lucas Broadwater contributed reports.
