Senators wait for final border deal details
Republicans unveil impeachment charges against Mayorkas
Also in today’s ‘Regular Order’ for January 29, 2024:
Biden hits '“Donald ‘Herbert Hoover’ Trump.”
Bipartisan tax cut package could be in trouble.
Democrats face a choice in South Carolina.
THIS WEEK. Is this finally the week for a Senate border deal? House Republicans move to impeach the Homeland Security Secretary.
BORDER SECURITY. Lawmakers are back at work today with an extraordinary legislative and political situation. Even before the details have been made public, House Republicans - egged on by former President Donald Trump - are denouncing and rejecting a bipartisan deal on border security, which has the backing of senior Republicans in the Senate.
SENATE. "We do have a bipartisan deal," lead Democratic negotiator Sen. Chris Murphy (D-CT) told CNN's 'State of the Union' on Sunday, saying the text is being finalized. "We should pass this bill despite Donald Trump’s desire to keep chaos at the border because it helps him politically."
CRITICS. Those siding with Trump argue that President Biden already has all of the powers he needs to seal the border. "We don't need new laws," said Sen. Rick Scott (R-FL). "We need to secure the border to protect the American people."
BACKERS. Lead GOP negotiator Sen. James Lankford (R-OK) took his case to ‘Fox News Sunday.’ "This puts in mandatory pieces that haven't been there in the past to make this administration actually enforce the law," as Lankford chided GOP lawmakers who once demanded border policy changes - but now have backed off because of Trump's opposition.
NBPC. The main union for the Border Patrol - a stern critic of the Biden Administration's border security policy choices - counseled patience in the face of loud GOP opposition. "We haven’t seen the text of the bill but we do know Senator Lankford always tries to put the American people first," the group tweeted.
TEXT. When are we going to see the final details? We have been asking that question for weeks. Sooner or later, Senators will have to put something on the table - and then see if it can actually get 60 votes.
BIDEN. "For too long, we all know the border’s been broken," President Biden said this weekend. "If you’re serious about the border crisis, pass a bipartisan bill and I will sign it.”
BOOMER SOONER. Compromise has become a dirty word for many Republicans. We saw that again this weekend from Oklahoma, where the state GOP passed a resolution condemning the Senate border negotiations undertaken by Sen. James Lankford (R-OK).
RESOLUTION. "Senator Lankford playing fast and loose with Democrats on our border policy not only disenfranchises legal immigrants seeking citizenship but also puts the safety and security of Americans in great danger," the GOP rebuke stated. The state party called on him to 'cease and desist jeopardizing the security and liberty of the people of Oklahoma.'
LANKFORD. For those of you who aren't that familiar with Lankford, he's a very conservative politician. The Oklahoma Republican is nothing which would resemble a 'RINO' or a moderate. But he's taking a lot of flak for trying to get something done in Congress.
IMPEACH. Boiling over with frustration about the southern border, House Republicans rolled out the details of their impeachment charges against Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas. The plans will be voted on Tuesday by the House Homeland Security Committee, even though Mayorkas has yet to testify.
CHARGES. There are two articles of impeachment. Count 1 is "Willful and Systemic Refusal to Comply With The Law." Count 2 is "Breach of Public Trust." You can read the full details of the impeachment resolution at this link.
GOP. "Having exhausted all other options to hold Secretary Mayorkas accountable, it is unmistakably clear that Congress must exercise its constitutional duty and impeach him," said Rep. Mark Green (R-TN).
OPPOSITION. Democrats have rolled their eyes at the GOP impeachment push. "This is partisan politics at its absolute worst," said Rep. Mike Quigley (D-IL), who called it a 'waste of time.' The effort comes at an odd time, as Mayorkas has been deeply involved with the Senate immigration talks.
VOTE. It’s not clear when the full House will vote on the Mayorkas impeachment, but my best guess would be by mid-February at the latest. That would send the matter to the Senate for a trial.
SENATE. Unlike an impeachment trial for a President, the Senate would likely create a 12-member committee - six Senators from each party - to hear evidence in the case. Only one Cabinet member has been impeached - back in 1876.
THE PAST. Reading through the GOP impeachment resolution, it immediately struck me that it could be used to impeach others who served as Homeland Security Secretary. Back in the Bush years, the U.S. wasn’t detaining everyone who had asked for asylum until their case was adjudicated. Same during Obama and Trump.
NUMBERS. The evidence against Mayorkas focuses on the big increase in migrants coming over the border - over 300,000 in December alone. The highest during the Trump Administration was 144,000 in one month in 2019. Does that mean 144,000 was okay, but anything over that is an impeachable offense?
IMPEACHMENT. More than anything, the charges laid out against Mayorkas in this document are a policy dispute. It is obvious that many policy choices of Biden and Mayorkas have not worked - just look at the numbers. But the Trump Administration struggled along the border at times, too.
TAX BILL. Not only is there uncertainty facing bipartisan border security plans, but there’s also a brewing GOP revolt against a new bipartisan tax cut package which might get a vote this week in the House. I had to chuckle as I watched conservatives question the plan - using the age-old GOP claim that it had hidden benefits for illegal immigrants.
NO WAY. "Allowing the Child Tax Credit to go to illegal foreign nationals is absolutely something that should be a red line," said Rep. Scott Perry (R-PA). "Illegal aliens should not be entitled to child tax credits or any form of welfare or amnesty in this country," added Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-CO).
DEFENSE. The furor forced the main architect of the bill, Rep. Jason Smith (R-MO) to publicly rebuke such charges. "It provides no special loopholes for illegal immigrants," Smith said. "It still requires a Social Security number to claim the child tax credit."
HOUSE FLOOR. Don't underestimate the ability of Republicans to light their own legislation on fire. The Tax Relief for American Families and Workers Act is on the House schedule for now, but it's possible these claims related to illegal immigration - and other concerns - might prevent a House vote this week.
PALMETTO STATE. Democrats in South Carolina have a choice to make. That's because of the odd nature of the presidential primary schedule in the Palmetto State. The GOP primary for President is February 24 - but the Democratic primary is this Saturday on February 3.
PRIMARY. South Carolina is an open primary state, meaning you can vote in either primary - but you can't vote in both. In other words, if Democrats want to screw with Donald Trump by voting for Nikki Haley, they can do that - but they can't also vote in the Democratic primary this Saturday.
FIRST. Remember, Democrats changed the party's primary schedule and made South Carolina first instead of Iowa and New Hampshire. I'm sure Biden would like a strong showing on Saturday - but Democrats also wouldn't mind toying with Trump on February 24.
BIDEN. Out on the campaign trail, President Biden is now using what I would best describe as mockery and ridicule against Donald Trump. Much of it is based on Trump's own words - especially about the economy - as Trump earlier this month said he hoped the economy crashes *before* he takes office.
HERBERT. "When there’s a crash, I hope it’s going to be during this next 12 months because I don’t want to be Herbert Hoover," Trump said. The mention of Hoover has made it easy for Biden to attack.
HOOVER. "There are only two Presidents in American history who left office with fewer jobs than when they took office,” Biden said in South Carolina. “Herbert Hoover and, yes, Donald ‘Herbert Hoover’ Trump."
MOCKERY. Biden also went out of his way to work in Trump's recent verbal mishap in New Hampshire. "By the way, have you noticed he’s a little confused these days?” Biden said of Trump. "He apparently can’t tell the difference between Nikki Haley and Nancy Pelosi.”
HALEY. While Haley was hitting Trump during rallies this weekend in her home state, let's be realistic about the GOP race. Haley probably has little chance to derail Trump’s bid for the Republican Party nomination. But she can certainly keep jabbing at him for the next month.
DEBATE. At her rallies this weekend, Haley repeatedly needled Trump over his refusal to debate. "We need to continue to tell him that he's got to talk to the American people," Haley said. "You can't hide behind a camera.” (Narrator - Trump will not agree to any debates.)
MATERIAL. Haley is giving Democrats all kinds of stuff to use against Trump. She often points out that Trump ran up close to $8 trillion on the national debt in four years - as she routinely ridicules Congressional Republicans for not cutting spending. "Now you tell me who the big spenders are," Haley said Sunday.
STEFANIK. The official website of Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-NY) has cleared away all links to press releases issued in 2021 and 2022. That includes deleting several of her statements and releases in the aftermath of the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol. It comes amid speculation that Stefanik might be a leading candidate to be Donald Trump's running mate.
WEB ARCHIVE. As of January 25, a statement issued the night of Jan. 6, 2021 was still on her site. "This is truly a tragic day for America," Stefanik said. "The perpetrators of the un-American violence and destruction must be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law." But that's now gone.
VERY SCARY. Also erased was a link showcasing an interview that Stefanik gave to local reporters about Jan. 6, in which she said the scene inside the House Chamber that day was 'very scary.' Is this an effort to scrub her website? Or is it just a clerical update to get rid of old press releases?
CASUALTY LIST. The GOP streak of Congressional retirements finally ended at seven, as Rep. Dutch Ruppersberger (D-MD) announced that he would not run for reelection in November. He's the second prominent Democrat from Maryland to opt for retirement.
NUMBERS. 41 House current House members won't be back after the November elections - edging us closer to 10 percent of the House. The split is 23 Democrats and 18 Republicans. The House turnover in the last three presidential elections was 58, 57, and 78 seats.
RAP SHEET. A Michigan man was arrested last week by the feds on charges related to Jan. 6. Jason Howland joined other rioters in entering the Capitol through the Senate Wing Door. He was then involved in altercations with police outside, held back from a physical confrontation by other rioters.
MUSE OF HISTORY. January 29, 1884. On this date, the House approved an investigation into a Cincinnati newspaper reporter, Henry Boynton, accused of making a corrupt proposal to ex-House Speaker J. Warren Keifer. Boynton vigorously denied wrongdoing, and claimed Keifer was trying to settle scores against a press critic. A few months later, the House would vote that Kiefer's charges against Boynton were ‘not sustained by the evidence.’
LEGISLATIVE PROGRAM:
The House convenes at 12 noon.
The Senate is back on Tuesday.
Check President Biden’s schedule.
Follow me on Twitter @jamiedupree.
Email me at jamiedupree@substack.com
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I'm in South Carolina. I was planning to cross party lines in the primary and vote for Haley. But I contacted my local county Democratic Party and here's what they said. Two responses from two different people.
1) Iowa is a small and insignificant (politically) state. Except during presidential primaries when it is the first state in the nation for Republicans. Winning Iowa can change the course of elections because of the momentum it represents. This year, South Carolina is the Iowa of the Democratic Party. And just as we did in 2020, we need to show that Democrats are strongly engaged and ready to rumble. If our turnout numbers are diluted because a large number of Dems vote in the Republican primary, the media - nationally - will be talking about soft Biden numbers, lack of support, weak showings, etc. That can have an outsized impact on the race.
Beyond that, there is no point in voting for Nikki. She will not beat Trump in SC and , even if she does, she has no chance of winning the nomination unless Trump dies or goes to jail. It’s a wasted vote, but not a harmless one. A good deal of harm can be done to our chances in November if we falter now.
2) We are not here to say whether Iowa is or isn’t politically insignificant, but what is important is that SC has a much more diverse electorate than Iowa. We fought hard to have the privilege of being First in the Nation. This is significant, showing the rest of the nation what a diverse population of Democrats sees as important. We want to keep this status and have good data going into 2028, therefore we need all of our Dems to show up and vote in the Dem primary.
Re: Data. Our data is messed up when people don’t vote in our primaries. Since we don’t register by Party in SC, primaries are the only way we have to target our voters.
There won’t be enough Dems to outweigh the Trump turnout in the primary, if even if some vote in their primary. It’s best to vote in ours, improve our data, and ensure that the rest of the country sees how fired up about the significance of the fact that we go first really is.
I hope you will vote in our primary on Feb 3.
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After reading this, we decided to stick with voting in the Democratic primary. I felt the second response made a compelling argument. Since we have early voting here, I've already cast my ballot.
“ a clerical update to get rid of old press releases?”
Ha.