In the U.S. political system, senators can’t initiate impeachment proceedings; only House members can. That said, senators can encourage representatives to launch impeachment efforts, and over the weekend, one unexpected member of the upper chamber made just such an announcement. The Associated Press reported:
Democratic Sen. Jacky Rosen is calling for the impeachment of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, saying that she believes Noem is attempting to ‘mislead the American public’ about the fatal shooting of a 37 year-old protester in Minneapolis. […]
‘Kristi Noem has been an abject failure leading the Department of Homeland Security for the last year — and the abuses of power we’re seeing from ICE are the latest proof that she has lost control over her own department and staff,’ Rosen said in a statement to The Associated Press. Rosen said Noem’s conduct is ‘deeply shameful’ and she ‘must be impeached and removed from office immediately.’
For those unfamiliar with Rosen, the Nevada Democrat is hardly the most progressive member of the upper chamber. On the contrary, she’s earned a reputation as a centrist who helped Republicans end last fall’s government shutdown in ways that generated widespread frustration on the left.
Rosen appeared highly unlikely to take a bold stand on impeaching Noem, but after federal agents shot and killed an intensive care nurse named Alex Pretti on a Minneapolis street in broad daylight, leading to an avalanche of absurdities from the Homeland Security secretary, the Nevadan apparently felt compelled to step up.
On Capitol Hill, Rosen has quite a bit of company. When Democratic Rep. Robin Kelly of Illinois formally unveiled articles of impeachment against Noem earlier this month, she was joined by 69 co-sponsors. When last week came to an end, that total was up to 111. After Pretti’s slaying, it appears all but certain that other House Democrats who were weighing their options will sign on to the same effort, likely in the coming days.
But while much of this is symbolic — so long as Republicans control Congress, the impeachment effort against Noem faces long odds — Democrats are also taking more practical steps in the wake of Saturday’s deadly violence.
When the government shutdown came to end in the fall, members created a new deadline of Jan. 30 to keep federal operations going through the end of the fiscal year. By and large, with little appetite among either party for another shutdown, the appropriations process has been relatively smooth in recent weeks.
After federal agents shot and killed Pretti, everything changed quickly. Late Saturday, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said in a statement, “What’s happening in Minnesota is appalling — and unacceptable in any American city. Democrats sought common sense reforms in the Department of Homeland Security spending bill, but because of Republicans’ refusal to stand up to President Trump, the DHS bill is woefully inadequate to rein in the abuses of ICE. I will vote no.”
The New York Democrat added, “Senate Democrats will not provide the votes to proceed to the appropriations bill if the DHS funding bill is included.”
Roughly 24 hours later, Schumer reiterated, “Senate Democrats will not allow the current DHS funding bill to move forward. … Senate Republicans must work with Democrats to advance the other five funding bills while we work to rewrite the DHS bill.”
To summarize, funding for Homeland Security is currently part of a six-bill package that senators were expected to approve before Friday’s deadline. As things stand, the Democratic position — which has been publicly endorsed by centrist members who were originally inclined to back the overall package — is that the funding for DHS will have to be removed and considered separately.
No one’s altogether sure what will happen before Friday night, but Senate Republican leaders appear to understand that the Democratic position is firm — even if a handful of Democratic members were to break ranks, reaching the 60-vote threshold appears effectively impossible — and efforts are already underway to create a carve-out that would preserve the rest of the spending deal. Watch this space.
