House Republicans due to vote on articles of impeachment while prospects of new Ukraine aid appear doomed due to immigration standoff
Good morning, US politics blog readers. Yesterday, the House of Representatives’ Republican leaders made clear they would not, under any circumstances, support a bill to change immigration policy negotiated in the Senate, even though it contains many of the hardline policies they have demanded. Their opposition likely dooms the prospects of Congress approving new military aid to Ukraine’s beleaguered military, or to Israel, because the GOP demanded immigration policy be overhauled in order to approve new assistance. But far from looking for other ways to work with Joe Biden and the Democrats, House Republicans are doubling down on their confrontational stance today, by holding a floor vote in the afternoon on the articles of impeachment against the homeland security secretary, Alejandro Mayorkas. They accuse him of mishandling border security, and while it’s unclear if the impeachment vote, a rare occurrence against a cabinet secretary, will succeed, the Democratic-led Senate is sure to reject the articles.
The biggest consequence of the deadlock over the immigration bill is that there is no obvious way to for Congress to find consensus on aiding either country, particularly with the far right turned against Ukraine. The Republican House speaker, Mike Johnson, is nonetheless planning to also call a vote today on a standalone aid package for Israel, but Biden has threatened to veto it, arguing it must be coupled with the immigration bill and the aid to Kyiv.
Joe Biden and Kamala Harris will at 5.30pm ET hold a White House reception in honor of Black History Month.
The treasury secretary, Janet Yellen, will appear before the House financial services committee starting at 10am to discuss the stability of America’s financial system, though lawmakers will likely interrogate her about plenty of other subjects.
The White House press secretary, Karine Jean-Pierre will answer reporters’ questions at 1.30pm.