House fails to impeach Mayorkas, a blow to Arizona's far-right members. Here's what happened

House Republicans failed to impeach Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas on Tuesday over his handling of the U.S.-Mexico border, a blow to the House’s farthest-right bloc that had been pushing the idea.

The vote failed at a razor-thin margin of 216-214 because four Republicans broke from their party to oppose the impeachment resolution.

The vote was historic not only because it would have marked the second impeachment of a Cabinet member in U.S. history, but also because of strenuous arguments by Democrats and even some conservative legal scholars that the accusations against Mayorkas did not reach the constitutionally mandated threshold for impeachment.

Arizona’s congressional delegation was split along party lines, with all three of its Democratic members opposing the measure, and all six Republicans voting in favor of it.

In a written statement released after the vote, Rep. Raúl Grijalva, D-Ariz., noted the consensus among legal scholars that policy disagreements are not sufficient grounds for impeachment.

“Instead of passing real immigration reform to fix our broken system or giving the necessary resources for Secretary Mayorkas and border communities to manage the humanitarian crisis, the House Republican majority moved forward an unfounded and baseless impeachment resolution,” Grijalva said.

“What’s more, (House) Speaker (Mike) Johnson (R-La.) refuses to bring to the floor an agenda that gives the U.S. House of Representatives an opportunity to debate and deal with real solutions for the border and immigration,” he continued, in reference to the Senate-brokered immigration reform deal that House Republicans have rejected.

Rep. Paul Gosar, R-Ariz., issued a statement defending the impeachment push.

“Mayorkas has failed to secure the border or protect our nation. He, along with Joe Biden, are singularly responsible for the crisis along the southern border and his actions have put our entire country in harm’s way,” Gosar wrote. “He has lost trust with the American people.”

Several of Arizona’s representatives have played a key role in the impeachment effort. Rep. Andy Biggs, R-Ariz., one of the House’s most conservative members, introduced articles of impeachment as early as 2021, six months after Mayorkas took office. Had the case made it to the Senate, Biggs would have served as one of 11 “impeachment managers” who would prosecute the case against Mayorkas.

Biggs defended the impeachment push in a Fox News interview after the vote.

"Our duty is to go forward. … I mean, I'd rather be successful. But you have to fight the fight, or else there's no point in you being here trying to do what's right," Biggs said, adding on social media, "We're not done yet."

Rep. Eli Crane, R-Ariz., another conservative member of Arizona’s House delegation, sits on the House Homeland Security Committee, which referred the impeachment articles to the full House floor.

Leading up to the vote, Crane argued that Mayorkas’ behavior violated the government’s constitutional duty to protect states against “invasion,” a term that Republicans have frequently used to refer to the recent surge of illegal border crossings.

Even if it had passed the House, the measure was unlikely to pass the Senate, which is controlled by Democrats and where a two-thirds majority vote would have been needed to convict Mayorkas. Still, the effort has served as an opportunity for Republicans to air their criticisms of Biden’s handling of the U.S.-Mexico border at a time when that topic is becoming a top issue in the ongoing election cycle.

Rep. Juan Ciscomani, R-Ariz., who is facing a competitive reelection race this year, argued on the House floor on Tuesday evening that Republicans were pursuing impeachment because “there is no option left.”

In fact, Biggs, Ciscomani, and Crane are among the Republicans who, despite their vehement demands for border security, this week ripped a bipartisan Senate plan that included border measures.

Negotiated in large part by Sen. Kyrsten Sinema, I-Ariz., the plan would make several significant changes to U.S. immigration policy, such as requiring the U.S. government to shut down the asylum processing system if the border becomes busy enough, and tightening the standards for receiving asylum status in the U.S.

The reaction from Arizona’s congressional delegation has fallen mostly along party lines, with some exceptions: Republican Rep. David Schweikert, R-Ariz., has not yet publicly taken a position on the bill, and Grijalva has said it is not comprehensive enough.

Johnson has rejected the border bill, declaring it “dead on arrival” if it reaches the House of Representatives. As of late Tuesday, the legislation's future seemed shaky even in the Senate.

Laura Gersony covers national politics for The Arizona Republic. Reach her at lgersony@gannett.com or 480-372-0389.

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This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Who voted to impeach Mayorkas? How Arizona's delegation came down