‘Someone Needs to be Impeached’: Nadler Quotes Marjorie Taylor Greene While Slamming GOP’s ‘Political Theater’

Rep. Jerry Nadler (D-NY), the ranking member of the House Judiciary Committee, slammed his Republican colleagues for calling Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas in to testify Wednesday in what he characterized as a prelude to a baseless impeachment.

Nadler quoted Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) saying, “Someone needs to be impeached,” and Judiciary Chairman Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH) calling to impeach Mayorkas because he “deserves” it as evidence that the GOP has no substantive case against Mayorkas, but instead, a need to offer red meat to their base.

“Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Mr. Chairman, we are once again far afield from the work this committee should be doing. The Department of Homeland Security was born in the wake of the September 11th attacks and exists to protect our nation from new and emerging threats. That work is serious business,” Nadler began, adding:

And in years past, under the leadership of chairmen of both parties, when we welcome the Secretary of Homeland Security into this hearing room, we took our responsibilities seriously. To be sure, some of the questions we posed in those past hearings were tough, debate is often heated when we discuss important topics like immigration and the security of the nation.

But our work on both sides of the aisle was grounded in a good-faith effort to advance the mission of the department and to keep our country safe. How times have changed.

A few weeks ago, desperate for votes on the debt ceiling deal, Speaker McCarthy promised the extreme MAGA wing of his party that they could pursue the impeachment of Secretary Mayorkas as Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene put it, if she was going to vote for the debt ceiling bill, she wanted some, quote, ‘dessert.’ As she so eloquently put it, ‘Everyone loves dessert, and that’s impeachment. Someone needs to be impeached.’ Like many of her colleagues, she seemed not to care who was impeached so long as they could engage in the political exercise of impeaching somebody in the Biden administration. She singled out Secretary Mayorkas as, quote, ‘the lowest hanging fruit.’

And unfortunately, as we have already heard from the chairman. Today’s hearing will not be about legitimate congressional oversight of finding out the facts. Instead, the chairman and his colleagues in the majority will use today’s hearing as a predicate for a completely baseless attempt to impeach Secretary Mayorkas. They will do so at the behest of the most extreme MAGA Republicans. It will be one more exercise in political theater for the right-wing outrage machine before the August break.

“And sadly, the outrage will be entirely evidence-free,” Nadler continued, adding, “Don’t just take my word for it. In October 2022, before the Republicans took the majority and before any investigation started, Chairman Jordan said this Secretary Mayorkas deserves impeachment.”

“More recently, he said, quote, ‘It is not a matter of if. It’s a matter of when.’ That’s right. Who needs high crimes and misdemeanors? Chairman Jordan thinks the DHS secretary should be impeached because he, quote, ‘deserves it,’” Nadler argued.

Watch the full clip above via C-SPAN.

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