After facing the most complex day of his entire term, speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) stood up and spoke to journalists this Wednesday, promising in front of the cameras that Republicans will carry out an impeachment trial against Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas despite Tuesday's failed vote.
"Last night was a setback, but democracy is messy," Johnson said in response to a question about the failed impeachment.
The speaker of the House recalled that the Republican Party has a "very narrow margin" over the Democrats in the House. Therefore, there is a good chance that the initiatives will sink due to small unforeseen events, such as the shifting of opinions of four Republican legislators.
.@SpeakerJohnson on failed impeachment: "Last night was a setback but democracy is messy...We will pass those articles of impeachment. We'll do it on the next time round." pic.twitter.com/owlIqe24i0
— CSPAN (@cspan) February 7, 2024
The Republican leader also alluded to Representative Al Green (D-TX), who appeared at the precinct in extremis to cast his vote in a wheelchair after being rushed from a hospital where he is recovering from abdominal surgery.
"Sometimes when you're counting votes and people show up when they're not expected to be in the building, that changes the equation," Johnson said.
However, despite the setback, Johnson promised that Mayorkas would be impeached.
"We will pass those articles of impeachment. We'll do it on the next time round," Johnson said without providing details or a date for the next vote.
The speaker also defended himself against his critics after the Republicans lost two crucial votes on Tuesday, that of the impeachment of Mayorkas and that of the aid package to Israel promoted by the Republicans for more than 17.6 billion dollars that did not reach the two-thirds consensus of the House.
"It was a mess what happened here, but we're cleaning it up … I don't think this is a reflection on the leader, it's a reflection on the body itself," Johnson said.
