The Excerpt podcast: House GOP vote to impeach Homeland Security Sec. Alejandro Mayorkas
On Wednesday's episode of The Excerpt podcast: House Republicans voted to impeach Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas. What's next? Paste BN National Political Correspondent David Jackson looks at how Donald Trump is tightening his grip on the Republican Party.Democrat Tom Suozzi beats Republican Mazi Pilip in a special election for the seat of former Rep. George Santos. Paste BN Education Reporter Alia Wong talks about a Parkland librarian's search for healing on the 6th anniversary of the Marjory Stoneman Douglas shooting. Black cemeteries are being 'erased.' Advocates are fighting to save them.
Hit play on the player below to hear the podcast and follow along with the transcript beneath it. This transcript was automatically generated, and then edited for clarity in its current form. There may be some differences between the audio and the text.
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Taylor Wilson:
Good morning. I'm Taylor Wilson and today is Wednesday, February 14th, 2024. This is The Excerpt.
Today the House has voted to impeach the Homeland Security Secretary. What happens next? Plus, we take a closer look at how Donald Trump is tightening his grip on the Republican Party and we hear how a Parkland librarian has healed and helped heal six years after a devastating high school shooting.
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The House voted to impeach Homeland Security Secretary, Alejandro Mayorkas, yesterday. The move came after a failed attempt from House Republicans last week as they worked to make the border and immigration major 2024 issues. The vote passed mostly along party lines by account of 214 to 213. No Democrats joined the effort and a few GOP lawmakers sided with them. It was the first time the House impeached a cabinet secretary in nearly 150 years.
House Republicans alleged that the secretary deliberately and willfully allowed a crisis to advance on the southern border. But Democrats, a handful of GOP lawmakers and legal scholars across the political spectrum have argued that House Republicans accusations are policy disagreements over immigration. Still, nothing will directly result from last night's vote. The Senate has the power to hold a trial to remove an impeached official, but Democratic senate majority leader, Chuck Schumer, has not committed to holding the proceedings. And he called proceedings a sham in a statement after the vote.
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Former President Donald Trump is reasserting his control of the Republican Party. I caught up with USA Today national political correspondent, David Jackson, to discuss Trump's hold over the current GOP. Hello, David. Thanks for hopping on The Excerpt today.
David Jackson:
Hey, thanks for having me.
Taylor Wilson:
You wrote about Donald Trump's grip on the Republican Party. Let's start with some of this recent legislation. How is he influencing some of these recent deals or failed deals on Capitol Hill?
David Jackson:
Well, last month when he was on the campaign trail in Iowa and in New Hampshire, there was a negotiation going on on Capitol Hill between Republicans and Democrats for a new border bill. The idea is to try to tighten the border, which of course is a big Trump issue. But Trump said, "I don't want a border bill." And he all but admitted that his basic reason was that a border bill, it might hurt him and help Biden. He didn't want Congress to do anything. And lo and behold, they haven't done anything. Republicans have blocked it.
Taylor Wilson:
And David, related to that, Republicans in the House have voted to impeach Homeland Security Secretary, Alejandro Mayorkas, over the situation at the border. Has Trump had his hand in this as well?
David Jackson:
Well, we think so. He hasn't talked as much about this. We know he's had a hand in an effort to try to impeach President Biden. That effort hasn't gone very far in Capitol Hill, but Trump has been very critical of him. We haven't seen his fingerprints on that yet, but we're pretty sure they exist.
Taylor Wilson:
And Trump is also restructuring Republican national committee leadership. David, that includes installing a new family member. What's the latest here?
David Jackson:
Basically trying to reassert control of the Republican Party. Been some slippage over the years after January 6th and after his indictments and after he was challenged for the presidential nomination. Relations between Trump and the Republicans are pretty shaky. Well, now that it looks like he's got the nomination in hand, he's fully taking over and that includes the leadership of the Republican National Committee.
The funny thing is Ronald McDaniel, who's the current chair of the Republican Party, hasn't resigned yet. But Trump has strongly suggested that she do so and she's expected to do so after the South Carolina primary in February 24th. And as if to hurry this along, Trump issued a press release saying that he was recommending a guy named Michael Whatley to be the new chair of the Republican Party. He runs the GOP in North Carolina. He's a good friend of Trump's and that's who he wants to take over the party and looks like that's going to happen.
And while he was making this nomination, he also said, "By the way, I'm also nominating my daughter-in-law, Lara Trump to be a co-chair of the Republican National Committee." He's going to have a family member in there basically checking things out and make sure that the party as a whole is pursuing Trump's own interests.
Taylor Wilson:
And David, on the election front, Nikki Haley is still in the GOP presidential race trying to gain ground on Trump. What is he doing to try and run her out of the race?
David Jackson:
He's doing things like changing the leadership of the RNC is one of the things he's trying to do. But he's basically campaigning against her and he's all but threatening her supporters saying, "Hey, if you give money to her, we're not going to be dealing with you down the line."
And he is also threatening her. He and his aides have made it clear that she is really foreclosing her options down the line, including the 2028 presidential campaign because she's run such a negative campaign against Trump. In the view of Trump world, they're going to be able to eliminate Haley in the South Carolina primary on February 24th, and that will increase his ability to seize control of the Republican Party.
Taylor Wilson:
What might Trump's hold on the party, David, mean for moderates who already feel alienated by the direction the GOP has taken in recent years?
David Jackson:
Well, exactly, that's the flip side of it. And it's something that his opponents have pointed this out. But even some Republicans, they're concerned that with Trump taking over the party and remaking his own image, if you will, this MAGA image, it's pushing the party further and further to right.
And this process has alienated a lot of moderate voters and a lot of independent voters. A lot of those folks voted against Trump at Iowa and New Hampshire. There's concern that they're going to continue to do so the more he carries the Republican Party to the right.
Taylor Wilson:
David Jackson, USA Today national political correspondent. Thank you, David.
David Jackson:
Thanks.
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Taylor Wilson:
Voters in New York's third congressional district headed to the polls yesterday in a special election to replace embattled former congressman Republican, George Santos. Santos last year became the sixth lawmaker to be expelled from the House in the country's history. Former congressman and Democrat, Tom Suozzi, beat out Republican Nassau County legislator, Mazi Pilip. Suozzi reclaimed his former seat.
The election might seem like a simple local race, but it has major national implications, dealing a blow to Republicans who were fighting to keep their razor-thin majority in the House. They'll maintain a majority, but Suozzi win changes the advantage to 219 to 213 in favor of Republicans. That means Republicans can only afford two GOP defections if they want to pass anything without democratic support.
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Today marks six years since the shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida. And in the time since one school librarian has worked to prioritize students' wellness. I spoke with USA Today education reporter, Alia Wong, to learn more. Alia, thanks for hopping on The Excerpt today.
Alia Wong:
Happy to be here. Thanks for having me.
Taylor Wilson:
Alia, would you just start by recounting this terrible day of the shooting and what it was like for librarian, Diana Haneski?
Alia Wong:
She recounted being able to apply some advice she had gotten from a friend. And this friend who she'd known for decades since the '70s or '80s happened to have been the librarian at Sandy Hook Elementary. Diana had learned from the Sandy Hook librarian, Yvonne, some things to take into account in the event of a shooting. And of course, she never thought she would have to actually apply this advice.
All this advice, she ended up applying. Barricaded herself and 54 others, stuffed into a relatively small equipment closet. She told me about those more than two hours that they stayed in that room silent. And she just remembers looking through the crack below the door and being cognizant of every single shadow, every movement that she could detect, just essentially being in a frozen state.
Taylor Wilson:
What horrifying trauma. How has she worked to bring mental health resources and a sense of peace into this high school library in the wake of this shooting?
Alia Wong:
One of her prides and joy is a room that she calls the Zen Den, which is just a place that's very comfortable with really soft seating and nice lighting and just everything that you might want when you need a moment to calm down or just de-stress or just get away for a while. It's where her dog, River, who is basically the school's resident therapy dog, she's often in the library as well. And then of course, there are just a bunch of resources that students and teachers alike can peruse if they need advice on how to cope with trauma or stress. Every touch is really geared toward ensuring student wellbeing.
Taylor Wilson:
What have we seen from Florida lawmakers in the years since this tragedy? Have there been any changes around gun laws or even how about these restrictions on social-emotional learning?
Alia Wong:
Right after the shooting, Florida lawmakers really got together on both sides of the aisle to pass a host of bills that were aimed at making schools and broader communities safer. And these included a lot of gun control measures. there was a law that increased the age limit on buying a gun from 18 to 21. There is also a mandatory waiting period that was established. There was a red flag law that was implemented.
There was also relatedly, a lot of legislation passed that incentivized and encouraged the development of social-emotional learning. Lessons on things like how to manage your emotions, how to relate to others and form healthy relationships on how to be aware of yourself and your relationships with others.
But in the past few years, there've been a lot of efforts to reverse that legislation. One of the laws that was passed included a bill that allows for permitless carry of firearms. And on the social-emotional learning front, in part because of growing perceptions that this learning is a form of indoctrination and akin to what some describe as critical race theory, social-emotional learning has been phased out of many schools in Florida.
While there was a lot of progress that was made on different aspects of school safety in recent years, we've seen a little bit of a reversal on that. And that trend has really demoralized people like Diana, who lived through and survived these shootings and really was hopeful for a period that this wouldn't be in vain.
Taylor Wilson:
All right. Alia Wong covers education for USA Today. Very powerful story, Alia. Thanks for your time on it.
Alia Wong:
Thank you.
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Taylor Wilson:
Black cemeteries are being erased according to experts and advocates. But advocates are fighting to save them. In Bethesda, Maryland developers buried one cemetery under asphalt and turned it into a parking lot in the 1960s. But in 2021, a group of descendants and community members sued Montgomery County's Housing Opportunities Commission to stop it from selling the property to developers. The case made its way to Maryland Supreme Court and a decision is expected in the next few months.
And the case could have implications around the country. In 2022, Congress passed legislation authorizing the National Park Service to establish a program for the identification, preservation, and documentation of the sites. But the program has not been funded. That's according to Congresswoman, Alma S. Adams from North Carolina. She co-sponsored the legislation and says she hopes funding will be secured by early next year. Some nonprofits and state governments have stepped up, but accessing such funding can be a challenge. You can read more with a link in today's show notes.
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And be sure to stay tuned to The Excerpt later today when my cohost, Dana Taylor, sits down with Jared Cohen, author of the book, Life After Power, discussing the lives of presidents after holding such a powerful job. You can find the episode right here beginning at 4:00 PM Eastern time.
And happy Valentine's Day. Whether you're celebrating with a romantic partner, friends, or family, we wish you a day full of love. Thanks for listening to The Excerpt. You can get the podcast wherever you get your audio. And if you're on a smart speaker, just ask for The Excerpt. I'm Taylor Wilson, back tomorrow with more of The Excerpt from USA Today.