An old saying advises, “With friends like these, who needs enemies?” It’s an expression somewhat applicable to the political machinations of the retiring Republican congressman from Colorado, Rep. Ken Buck (R-CO).
Buck was among the few Republicans who voted against impeaching Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas. Buck previously provided relatively uninspiring reasons for not supporting Mayorkas’s impeachment, reasons that arguably contradict his support to expel disgraced former New York GOP Rep. George Santos.
“I think that George Santos has shown that he doesn’t have the character to serve in Congress, and I think that he is likely to be expelled. I think it’s going to happen in the next couple of weeks,” Buck said during an interview with CBS in November 2023.
It was an interesting statement from Buck and particularly very telling for several reasons. Notice Buck brought up character and claimed that Santos didn’t have the character to serve in Congress. It is a sentiment that makes sense and a comment I would most likely agree with. However, I would also make such a statement about several people in Congress (including those who pull fire alarms and repeatedly advance lies about police officers killing black men). Furthermore, if “character” was the barometer for expelling Santos, it should have also been the reason to vote to impeach Mayorkas.
Consider the allegations against Mayorkas and whether his character is worthy of the office he holds.
As I wrote previously, Mayorkas has repeatedly claimed the border was secure during his time in office. It is a claim he has made nearly every time he has spoken. However, this assertion was recently debunked by Mayorkas’s boss, President Joe Biden. The president recently declared that the border hadn’t been secure in over a decade. Shouldn’t Buck have problems with Mayorka’s character since he was obviously deceiving the country?
Moreover, Mayorkas was accused of committing perjury during congressional testimony regarding the border crisis. It’s a serious allegation of a crime that, if committed by a citizen who isn’t part of a presidential administration, would result in a punishment of up to five years in prison. However, Buck seemed to look the other way over these character concerns of Mayorkas.
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People have grown tired of corrupt and ineffective government officials not doing their jobs. Impeaching Mayorkas brought accountability to the Biden administration for failing to protect the nation’s borders. Now, we should all be wondering why Ken Buck (and the other Republicans who voted against impeaching him) was against that accountability.
From a moral and ethical standpoint, expelling Santos made sense. It was a consequential stand that hurt the Republicans in the long run and something that arguably should be questioned as an effective political strategy, but it made sense. However, so did impeaching Mayorkas. And taking action to hold Mayorkas accountable was more critical to the nation than any action taken to remove Santos.