Rep. Ken Buck (R-CO) questions U.S. Attorney General William Barr during a House Judiciary Committee hearing on Capitol Hill on July 28, 2020 in Washington, D.C. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
The TikTok vote scored major headlines, but so did the House vote to impeach Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas.
And, as is custom, the House GOP’s first attempt at impeachment failed before they took a mulligan.
Three Republicans helped tank the initial Mayorkas impeachment vote: Rep. Tom McClintock, R-Calif., Rep. Mike Gallagher, R-Wisc. — who is retiring — and Buck — who is leaving before his term ends.
The Colorado Republican cited impeachment as among his decisions to skip out of the 118th Congress early.
"We’ve taken impeachment, and we made it a social media issue as opposed to a Constitutional one," said Buck. "This place just keeps going down. I don’t really want to spend my time here."
Former Rep. Bill Johnson, R-Ohio, resigned early a few weeks ago to become the president of Youngstown State University. Former Rep. Brian Higgins, D-N.Y., left early to run an arts organization in Buffalo, New York. Fox is told there could be other lawmakers who ditch Capitol Hill before their term is up.
It is about the math.
Buck told Fox he will formally resign at the end of the day on March 22. This squeezes the meager GOP majority in the House. There will be 431 members. 218 Republicans to 213 Democrats. At this moment, the breakdown is 219 Republicans to 213 Democrats. That is a margin of six. However, Republicans can only lose two votes. That is because a tie vote fails automatically in the House. When Buck hits the exit ramp, the margin shrivels to five. However, the GOP can still only drop two votes on any given roll call without help from the other side.
Here is where things get really interesting.
There is a special election for the seat formerly occupied by Higgins on April 30. Strange things sometimes unfold in special elections because it’s impossible to determine the turnout. However, the Higgins seat is a Democratic district. New York Gov. Kathy Hochul (D) garnered 57% of the vote in that district. Republican Gary Dickson runs against Democrat Tim Kennedy. If Kennedy prevails, Democrats hold the seat, and the numbers change again in the House.
There will be 432 members. 218 Republicans to 214 Democrats. The margin is four seats, but the GOP cannot lose two votes and still pass a bill without help from across the aisle. Again, tie votes come into play. Republicans will be down to only a solitary vote to spare.
Special counsel Robert Hur's report calling out President Biden's "poor memory" sparked newfound media coverage of the leader's mental capacity in office. (Reuters / Getty)
"From what I've observed in this hearing, is that one side thinks you're trying to get President Trump elected and the other side thinks you're trying to get President Biden elected. I served as a prosecutor for 25 years. I know that you're going to take grief from both sides," said Buck. "But when both sides attack you, my admonition is ‘Welcome to Congress.’"
It is unclear what the next couple of months have in store for the House membership. Congress is not very pleasant right now. The sides can barely get together to avoid multiple government shutdowns or to lift the debt ceiling. There is a lack of trust between members. Republicans struggled for months to even pass their own bills. That is to say nothing of the GOP relying on Democrats to provide most of the votes on major bills like government funding.
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"We gotta get out of this place," sang Eric Burdon with the Animals. "There’s a better life for me and you."
And that is exactly the thinking of lawmakers who are storming the exits.
Chad Pergram currently serves as a senior congressional correspondent for FOX News Channel (FNC). He joined the network in September 2007 and is based out of Washington, D.C.
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