The number of House Democrats who support efforts to impeach Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem for “high crimes and misdemeanors” has reached the triple digits.
The figure now stands at 100, nearly double the 53 Democrats who had signed on as of last Tuesday to articles of impeachment filed against the so-called “ICE Barbie” by Illinois Rep. Robin Kelly.
The drastic increase in support for removing Noem from office is unprecedented during Donald Trump’s second term. Previous Democratic efforts to impeach the president or members of his Cabinet from House members Shri Thanedar, Haley Stevens, and Al Green had been dismissed by party leadership as an unnecessary waste of time.
California Rep. Jared Huffman, who had previously condemned the Democratic impeachment efforts, is now backing the push against Noem. Huffman told Axios that he is under “no illusions about whether it has a chance of passing” in the GOP-controlled House and Senate, but that “the circumstances are so extreme that a message needs to be sent.”
The articles of impeachment filed by Kelly accuse Noem of “obstruction of Congress” for routinely denying lawmakers access to DHS facilities, and for withholding congressionally appropriated disaster relief funding.
Noem is also accused of allowing people detained by ICE to have their First and Fourth Amendment rights violated, as well as engaging in “self-dealing” over reports that she approved $220 million in contracts for a firm run by her chief spokesperson’s husband.
The articles were filed after Noem was widely condemned for her comments on the fatal shooting of Minneapolis mother Renee Good by ICE agent Jonathan Ross. Noem and other Trump administration officials attempted to portray Good as a “domestic terrorist” who tried to “run over” Ross with her car, despite video evidence showing she was attempting to turn away from him at the time she was shot dead.
“Secretary Noem and her rogue agency have caused destruction and devastation across the country,” Kelly said after her impeachment resolution reached 100 co-sponsors.
“As Secretary Noem continues to lie, obstruct Congress, and violate people’s civil rights, the support for her impeachment only grows. I urge my colleagues on the other side of the aisle to be on the right side of the law and our Constitution.”
Any impeachment attempt against Noem would require a simple majority in the House and the support of two-thirds of the Senate.
A DHS spokesperson previously dismissed Kelly’s impeachment efforts as a “silly” initiative during a “serious time.”
The Daily Beast has contacted the Department of Homeland Security for comment.
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