After failure, Republicans will try again to impeach Mayorkas over the border

WASHINGTON — Republicans hope the second time will be a charm.

Exactly a week after failing to impeach Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas over his handling of the border, House Republicans will try again Tuesday to send articles of impeachment across the Capitol to the Democratic-led Senate.

They have zero room for error. Last week, a trio of skeptical Republicans — Reps. Ken Buck of Colorado, Tom McClintock of California and Mike Gallagher of Wisconsin — teamed up with all Democrats to force a 215-215 tie, tanking the impeachment vote and delivering an embarrassing blow to Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., and his leadership team.

As he faced blowback from his party, Gallagher said over the weekend that he will not seek re-election this fall.

With Majority Leader Steve Scalise, R-La., returning to Washington this week after receiving treatment for blood cancer, Republicans hope to be back at full strength and have the votes to impeach Mayorkas this time around. But with the margins so tight, unexpected absences could be a factor, especially with a major snowstorm bearing down on the Northeast making travel to Washington difficult.

The GOP also wants to regroup and push forward now because of the potential impact of Tuesday’s special election to replace George Santos, the expelled New York Republican congressman.

If the Democratic nominee, former Rep. Tom Suozzi, defeats Republican Mazi Pilip and can be sworn in quickly, it means that Republicans can lose only two GOP lawmakers on any vote and that the Mayorkas impeachment would likely be dead.

Campaigning Monday on Long Island for Pilip, GOP Conference Chair Elise Stefanik, R-N.Y., confidently predicted the votes were there for impeachment.

“Yes, we will pass