House Majority Leader Steve Scalise defends GOP effort to impeach DHS secretary Alejandro Mayorkas

House Majority Leader Steve Scalise defended Speaker Mike Johnson’s decision to hold last week’s failed vote on impeaching Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, telling CNN in an interview the vote was a “tough judgement call” and that it may have helped lock in GOP lawmakers on the fence.

“They felt it was important, there were some members that you know, might have been going back and forth, and to lock them in,” Scalise said ahead of a second vote to impeach Mayorkas scheduled for Tuesday evening.

“I know these are all tough judgment calls, but to make sure that you lock everybody into who’s a ‘yes,’ and now we know we’re one vote short, and let’s go get that done,” Scalise added.

Scalise missed last week’s impeachment vote – which failed in an embarrassing defeat, 214-216, with three House Republicans voting against it – but he’s back in Washington on Tuesday and in “complete remission” following successful stem cell treatment for a form of blood cancer.

So long as there are no more unforeseen absences, Scalise’s return will make him the decisive vote allowing Republicans to impeach Mayorkas.

The vote is occurring the same night that New York is holding a special election to replace expelled former Republican Rep. George Santos, giving Democrats the opportunity to make the GOP’s razor-thin majority in the House even tighter.

While Republicans won the district in 2022 with Santos, Scalise sought to downplay expectations, noting that Republican candidate Mazi Pilip is going up against former Democratic Rep. Tom Suozzi in a congressional district that President Joe Biden carried in 2020.

“The whole Democratic apparatus of the state of New York is supporting Suozzi in a Democrat-leaning seat,”