Biden Impeachment

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CONGRESS
Rep. Lauren Boebert to force House vote on impeaching Biden

The Colorado Republican is using a procedural tactic that requires the House to hold a floor vote on the resolution.

 

UNITED STATES - MARCH 22: Rep. Lauren Boebert, R-Colo., attends a news conference with senators and members of the House Freedom Caucus on the debt limit and spending reforms, in the Senate studio of the U.S. Capitol on Wednesday, March 22, 2023. (Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call via AP Images)
Rep. Lauren Boebert, R-Colo., at the U.S. Capitol on March 22.Tom Williams / CQ Roll Call via AP file
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June 20, 2023, 11:02 PM EDT
By Zoë Richards

Rep. Lauren Boebert introduced articles of impeachment Tuesday against President Joe Biden that will force a House floor vote in the coming days.

The articles offered by Boebert, R-Colo., which focus on Biden's handling of immigration and the U.S.-Mexico border, come on the day court filings revealed a plea agreement for Hunter Biden over misdemeanor tax offenses and a felony firearm crime.

"President Biden's negligence of duty has resulted in the surrender of operational control of the border to the complete and total control of foreign criminal cartels putting the lives of American citizens in jeopardy," Boebert said on the House floor Tuesday.

Unlike other impeachment efforts, Boebert said, hers uses a procedural tactic that requires the House to hold a floor vote.

"I am bringing my articles of impeachment against Joe Biden to the House Floor in a privileged motion, meaning that every Member of Congress must vote on holding Joe Biden accountable," Boebert tweeted.

 

A spokesperson for House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., did not immediately respond to a request for comment about when the resolution would come to the floor.

House Democratic Whip Katherine Clark of Massachusetts said in an email to colleagues Tuesday night that the House "is expected to take a procedure vote on the motion to table the resolution when it is offered this week."

Passing a motion to table the resolution would essentially block Boebert's effort.

 

The six-page impeachment resolution argues that Biden has abused his power and is derelict in his duty as president, leading an administration "that has continuously, overtly, and consistently violated Federal immigration law by pursuing an aggressive, open-borders agenda."

Boebert, who tried to impeach Biden in 2021, accuses him of "purposefully and knowingly" releasing millions of migrants into the U.S. "without the intention or ability to ensure that they appear in immigration court to face asylum or deportation proceedings."

 

Asked for comment, White House spokesperson Ian Sams said in a statement that "extreme House Republicans are staging baseless political stunts that do nothing to help real people and only serve to get themselves attention.”

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Congressional Republicans and some Democrats have criticized Biden over his handling of southern border crossings and have frequently opposed efforts to wind down a Trump-era policy known as Title 42, which was lifted last month.

The Biden administration has defended its border policies, arguing in a recent court filing that its actions have reduced the number of migrants permitted to apply for asylum at the southern border by allowing them to be screened for asylum only if they can prove that they previously tried to apply in countries they passed through or that their cases are exceptions to the rule.

According to Customs and Border Protection, border crossings have fallen from over 10,000 a day to roughly 3,500 a day since Title 42 was ended.

Republicans have previously introduced impeachment articles against Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, which have not gone to the floor for a vote.

In May, Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., introduced impeachment articles against Biden over the administration’s handling of migrant crossings, but the resolution did not require a floor vote, as Boebert's will.

The procedural tactic Boebert employed was used last week by Rep. Anna Paulina Luna, R-Fla., in an effort to censure and fine Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Calif. Democrats, along with almost two dozen Republicans, blocked the measure in a floor vote.

Luna told NBC News on Tuesday that a separate measure to censure Schiff without fining him will get a vote Wednesday night, adding that she has secured the necessary number of GOP votes for it to pass.

Zoë Richards
Zoë Richards is the evening politics reporter for NBC News.

Kyle Stewart, Mike Memoli and Sally Bronston contributed.