(The Hill) – Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-Colo.) is forcing a House vote on impeaching President Biden over his handling of the U.S.-Mexico border and immigration policy, making a surprise privileged motion Tuesday evening that will require House floor action on the matter this week.
Walking off the House floor on Tuesday, Boebert said that while House GOP leadership was aware she would make the privileged motion, the date of further action was still being scheduled with leadership.
A notice from House Democratic Whip Katherine Clark (D-Mass.) on Tuesday indicated that Democrats will make a motion to table the resolution when it comes up for a vote on the floor, a procedural move that would block the resolution from coming to the floor for a vote.
Boebert’s impeachment resolution, which she introduced earlier this month, includes two impeachment articles: one for abuse of power, and another for dereliction of duty.
In the first impeachment article concerning abuse of power, Boebert charges that Biden “knowingly presided over an executive branch that has continuously, overtly, and consistently violated Federal immigration law by pursuing an aggressive, open-borders agenda,” citing the high number of migrants released into the U.S. “without the intention or ability to ensure that they appear in immigration court to face asylum or deportation proceedings.”
And in the second impeachment article for dereliction of duty, Boebert’s resolution points to deportation cases being at historic lows, and deaths caused by fentanyl.
In response to Boebert’s move, the White House accused House Republicans of staging “political stunts.”
“Instead of working with President Biden on solutions to the issues that matter most to the American people, like creating jobs, lowering costs and strengthening health care, extreme House Republicans are staging baseless political stunts that do nothing to help real people and only serve to get themselves attention,” Ian Sams, White House spokesman for oversight and investigations, said in a statement.
Boebert did not predict whether her impeachment articles would pass or not.
“We’ll see. I mean, I hope that Republicans and Democrats alike can recognize the invasion that’s taking place at our southern border, and that the laws of our nation are not being faithfully executed, and that we have an opportunity to bring a check and a balance to the invasion that’s going on,” Boebert said.
Boebert’s impeachment push comes as her ideological ally, Rep. Anna Paulina Luna (R-Fla.), is forcing another vote on censuring Rep. Adam Shiff (D-Calif.) of his handling of investigations into former President Trump.
And it also comes as Republicans have turned their focus on the business dealings of President Biden’s family members after his son, Hunter Biden, agreed to a plea deal involving federal tax and gun charges on Tuesday.
Asked why she was forcing the impeachment articles now, Boebert said: “It’s been time. It’s past time.”
Most House Republicans hungry for retribution over the U.S.-Mexico border have focused on Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas rather than Biden. Last week, the House GOP launched an investigation that could serve as the basis of an eventual Mayorkas impeachment.