How Iowa’s 4 GOP Congress members voted on impeaching DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas

Iowa’s four Republican congressional delegates voted in lockstep Tuesday to impeach Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, but the impeachment effort died on a 214-216 vote.

The Housevoted largely along party lines, even as House Republicans are rejecting a bipartisan deal to address the crisis on the southern border with Mexico. But four Republicans voted against impeachment, enough to sink the measure.

The House voted on two articles of impeachment accusing Mayorkas of a “willful and systemic refusal to comply with the law” and a “breach of public trust.”

Democrats, a handful of House Republicans and legal experts across the political spectrum have dismissed Republicans’ impeachment push. Theysay the GOP’s grievances with Mayorkas amount to policy disagreements and fall far short of the “high crimes and misdemeanors” standard called for in impeachment.

Here’s what Iowa’s congressional delegation voted on the Mayorkas impeachment and what they had to say about it:

Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas testifies during a Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee hearing on threats to the homeland, Oct. 31, 2023, on Capitol Hill in Washington.

1st District U.S. Rep. Mariannette Miller-Meeks

U.S. Rep. Mariannette Miller-Meeks speaks during Gov. Kim Reynolds’ Harvest Festival at the Elwell Family Food Center at the Iowa State Fairgrounds on Saturday, Oct. 14, 2023, in Des Moines.

U.S. Rep. Mariannette Miller-Meeks, a Republican who represents southeast Iowa, voted to impeach.

She did not immediately issue a statement on her vote.

U.S. Rep. Ashley Hinson, R-Iowa, waves to supporters while walking on stage during the Ashley’s BBQ Bash fundraiser, Sunday, Aug. 6, 2023, at Hawkeye Downs in Cedar Rapids, Iowa.

U.S. Rep. Ashley Hinson, a Republican who represents northeast Iowa, posted on social media that “this is a solemn day, but we must impeach.”

She blamed Mayorkas for rash of fentanyl deaths in America, although most of those drugs come through controlled border crossings.

“Secretary Mayorkas is complicit in the deaths of Americans poisoned by fentanyl,” Hinson wrote. “He bears responsibility for suspected terrorists on our soil. He is to blame for the violence against Americans at the hands of illegal immigrants.”

3rd District U.S. Rep. Zach Nunn

U.S. Rep. Zach Nunn introduces Republican presidential candidate Ron DeSantis during a campaign event at Waukee Community Center on Wednesday, Jan. 3, 2024, in Waukee.

U.S. Rep. Zach Nunn, a Republican who represents metro Des Moines and central and southern Iowa, voted to impeach.

He did not immediately issue a statement on his vote.

4th District U.S. Rep. Randy Feenstra

U.S. Rep. Randy Feenstra, R-Iowa, is introduced during the annual Roast and Ride fundraiser for U.S. Sen. Joni Ernst, Saturday, June 3, 2023, at the Iowa State Fairgrounds in Des Moines, Iowa.

U.S. Rep. Randy Feenstra, a Republican representing conservative northwest Iowa, promised in advance to vote for impeachment, posting on social media: “Today, I will vote to impeach Secretary Mayorkas for intentionally failing to secure the border.”

Mike Trautmann is the News Director/Politics Editor for the Des Moines Register. Reach him at mtrautmann@gannett.com; Twitter: @DMRPoliticsCzar.

This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Iowa’s Congress members explain their Mayorkas impeachment votes