More than 50 Democrats have signed to co-sponsor articles of impeachment against Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, a large departure from previous efforts to target President Donald Trump and other members of his cabinet, according to a new report.
The initiative, being spearheaded by Rep. Robin Kelly, has garnered far more support than other such attempts as criticism of Noem surged after the shooting of Renee Good in Minneapolis last week.
Axios detailed that 53 House Democrats had signed on to the bill by Tuesday afternoon. The list includes lawmakers in battleground districts and known centrists in competitive primaries for U.S. Senate seats.
“Under Secretary Noem, DHS and ICE have systemically violated the rights and privacy of Americans, terrorized our cities, and obstructed congress,” reads a passage of Kelly’s letter calling on colleagues to sign on to the articles.
The articles are set to be unveiled on Wednesday and will accuse Noem of three counts: Obstruction of Congress, Violation of public trust and Self-dealing.
The first one involves cases when lawmakers were prevented from entering DHS facilities and withheld congressionally appropriated disaster relief funding. The second is in regards ICE’s denial of due process and violation of First and Fourth amendments to detainees. And the third involves reports that Noem awarded $220 million in contracts to a firm run by the husband of her top spokesperson.
Maryland Rep. Jamie Raskin told Axios over the weekend that there was a “rising clamor for oversight and potentially impeachment” following what he described as a “nightmare” set of events.
In a statement to the outlet responding to Kelly’s announcement, DHS dismissed the impeachment effort as “silly during a serious time,” arguing that lawmakers should focus instead on what it said was a sharp rise in assaults against immigration officers.
Noem also brushed aside the criticism in an interview with Fox News over the weekend, saying she remained focused on her job and defending her public statements about the incidents. “Every single thing that I’ve said has been factual,” she said.
Originally published on Latin Times
