Outgoing Gov. Asa Hutchinson (R-AR) issued a warning to Republican lawmakers to ensure that any impeachment proceeding they pursue over the next two years must be based on actual wrongdoing rather than disagreements over policy proposals.
Hutchinson’s warning comes as House Republicans prepare to launch a number of investigations into Biden administration officials, particularly targeting Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas for his handling of the southern border. Republican leaders, such as House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, have also threatened to open impeachment inquiries into Mayorkas if the DHS official does not resign.
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“Well, let me be very clear and answer your question that impeachment proceedings should not be based upon policy. It should be based on wrongdoing,” Hutchinson told Fox Business on Monday. “And so whenever there’s failed policy, let’s investigate and have hearings on that and try to change that policy. That, to me, should be the approach of the Republican Congress.”
With their newly won majority in the House, Republicans plan to announce a slew of investigations into Biden administration officials regarding their conduct. Shortly after winning the midterm elections, Republicans demanded DHS officials preserve documents pertaining to the border for review once they took control of the House.
U.S. border officials encountered more than 2 million immigrants at the southern border during fiscal 2022, an increase from 1.7 million encounters the year before. The House Judiciary Committee notified Mayorkas late last year it would seek his testimony early into the next Congress, as well as the testimony of 10 other DHS officials.
GOP lawmakers are also seeking to investigate the Department of Justice and Attorney General Merrick Garland, accusing the department of being politically biased against former President Donald Trump.
However, if House Republicans do manage to impeach Mayorkas, Garland, or any Biden administration official, it’s unlikely they would be convicted in the Democratic-led Senate.
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Hutchinson’s comments come as the Arkansas governor is set to leave office on Tuesday, when Gov.-elect Sarah Huckabee Sanders is sworn in. Although he has not yet announced his intent to run for president in 2024, Hutchinson told Fox News that a White House bid is “on the table.”
“Obviously, we have one candidate in the race, on the Republican side, and I expect to have others,” Hutchinson said, referring to Trump, who announced his third White House bid in November. “And I’ll be thinking through that in the coming days and months.”
