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Gallagher ultimately voted no, and minutes later the vote was tied 215-215.
Immediately, the Wisconsin Republican was swarmed onto the House floor by colleagues engaged in an apparently last-ditch attempt to change his mind. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) was seen screaming at Gallagher. She quickly joined Rep. Mark Green (R-Texas), the Homeland Security Committee chairman and one of the most ardent supporters of impeaching Mayorkas, and Rep. Jody Arrington, who fervently tried to persuade her. (Republican, Texas) joined. Gallagher flips the vote.
Mr. Gallagher stood listening with his arms crossed over his chest, intermittently gesticulating and shaking his head. He didn’t move.
Democrats, on the other hand, shouted “Order!” Order all at once to end the tie vote. After several minutes of commotion, Rep. Blake D. Moore (R-Utah) approached the podium and changed his vote for the bill to a no vote. This is a procedural measure that allows Republican leaders to potentially bring the bill up for another vote. at a later date.
The initial tie vote almost never materialized, thanks to a little drama involving another lawmaker named Greene. Rep. Al Green (D-Texas) missed the vote that preceded Mayorkas’ impeachment vote.
Rep. Emanuel Cleaver II (D-Missouri), one of Greene’s closest friends, said in an interview with The Washington Post that Greene didn’t vote in the first place, resulting in a close margin. He said that he was aware that this might be the case. According to cell phone call records, he called the Texan twice at 6:13 p.m.
“I panicked,” Cleaver said.
But Greene appeared on the floor in a wheelchair at the last minute, bringing the vote to 215 before Moore changed his vote.
The motion to impeach Mayorkas failed by a vote of 214-216, a stunning rebuke to the months-long investigation into Mayorkas that had raised concerns from legal experts and even some Republicans.
Late Tuesday night, Mr. Gallagher issued a statement defending his vote against the first impeachment of a cabinet minister in nearly 150 years.
“Establishing a new, lower standard of impeachment without clear limiting principles will not secure national borders or territorial rights.” [President] Biden has a responsibility and will set a dangerous new precedent that will be used as a weapon against future Republican administrations.”
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