Rep. Moore explains his ‘no’ vote on Mayorkas impeachment
Feb 7, 2024, 7:51 PM | Updated: Feb 12, 2024, 12:59 pm
Rep. Blake Moore, R-Utah, voted "no" as the House tried to impeach Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas earlier this week. In this photo Moore speaks at the Utah Republican Party Organizing Convention in Orem on April 22. (Ryan Sun, Desert News)
(Ryan Sun, Desert News)
SALT LAKE CITY — Utah Republican Rep. Blake Moore voted “no” during the failed impeachment this week of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas. His vote, along with no votes from three Republicans and all Democrats in the House, killed the vote with a final tally of 214 to 216.
By voting “no,” Moore allowed House Republicans to vote again, later, on the Mayorkas impeachment resolution.
“This is typically done by the majority leader,” Moore told Dave and Dujanovic on KSL NewsRadio. “If it’s [the vote] going to fail, somebody will switch their vote at the last minute to be on the prevailing side in order to be able to offer a motion to reconsider so that motion then can be brought up again.”
Republicans blame Mayorkas for the current crisis at the US southern border.
Moore was recently elected as vice chairman of the House Republican Conference. He was filling in for House Majority Leader Steve Scalise who is undergoing treatment for blood cancer and was not present for the vote.
Despite his no vote, Moore said he stands with his fellow Utah Republican Reps. Celeste Maloy, John Curtis and Burgess Owens in their support of impeaching Mayorkas, according to Deseret News.
“House Republicans fully intend to bring Articles of Impeachment against Secretary Mayorkas back to the floor when we have the votes for passage,” Raj Shah, a spokesman for Speaker Mike Johnson, posted on X as reported by CNN.
