Rep. Lauren Boebert on Tuesday introduced articles of impeachment against President Joe Biden that will force a House floor vote in the coming days.
The articles of impeachment offered by Boebert, R-Colo., focus on the president’s handling of immigration and the U.S.-Mexico border but come on the same day that 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 she is using a procedural tactic that requires the House to hold a floor vote on the resolution.
“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 on when Boebert’s resolution would come to the floor.
House Democratic Whip Katherine Clark said in an email to colleagues Tuesday night that the chamber “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 impeachment 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 the president of “purposefully and knowingly” releasing millions of migrants into the United States “without the intention or ability to ensure that they appear in immigration court to face asylum or deportation proceedings.”
When reached 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.”
Congressional Republicans and some Democrats have criticized Biden over his handling of southern border crossings, and 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 migrants to be screened for asylum if only 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, but those measures have not come to the floor for a vote.
In May, Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., introduced an impeachment effort against Biden over the administration’s handling of migrant crossings, but the resolution did not require a floor vote like Boebert’s will.
The procedural tactic employed by Boebert was used last week by GOP Rep. Anna Paulina Luna of Florida in an effort to censure and fine Democratic Rep. Adam Schiff of California. Democrats, along with almost two dozen Republicans, blocked that 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.
Kyle Stewart, Mike Memoli and Sally Bronston contributed.
Source: | This article originally belongs to Nbcnews.com
