Yesterday the House failed to push forward the articles of impeachment against DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas for high crimes and misdemeanors – for his willful failure to enforce immigration laws. If the failure of Cabinet-level officials to enforce the laws of the land is insufficient grounds to be disqualified from office, what does disqualify a politician? Here are some possible nominations.
Acting as a Foreign Agent. Last week Florida Governor Ron DeSantis (R) called for Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN) to be expelled from Congress for her highly contested comments implying that she is acting as a foreign agent on behalf of Somalia. Although Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) introduced a censure resolution aimed at Omar, it seems unlikely that the House would move against Omar as they focus on the Mayorkas impeachment and the immigration bill.
Bribery. Senator Bob Menendez (D-NJ) has been indicted for receiving bribes from the Egyptian government to advance their interests. Fellow members of the Senate including John Fetterman (D-PA) have said that he should resign because he is disqualified from office. He was previously charged in 2015 in another bribery scheme but was nevertheless re-elected in 2018. The most recent expulsion from Congress was in 2002 when Ohio’s James Traficant was convicted of bribery and tax evasion.
Past Arrests. At a recent Republican primary debate for Colorado’s 4th Congressional District, six of the nine candidates raised their hand when asked if they had ever been arrested. The ensuing high-fives among the candidates and crowd applause were noted across the political spectrum. Although they write the laws for the rest of us, apparently the candidates do not think they should be disqualified from running for office – and neither did many of the supporters there.
Old Age. This reason for potential disqualification is hotly debated. President Joe Biden is 81 years old and former President Donald Trump is 77. President Biden’s campaign team is pitching his “voice of experience” to compensate for widespread public concern that he is too old for a second term. Both are likely to be their party’s candidate in November.
The average age in the U.S. Senate is 64, though that hides the fact that 30 Senators are over 70 and another 4 are over 80. Iowa Senator Chuck Grassley (R) handily won re-election in 2022 for an eighth term in the Senate, at the age of 89. Younger voters have expressed a desire for fresh leadership, but so far only 7% of Congress is under the age of 40 while nearly 32% are over 65. In other words, old age is not a universal disqualifier.
High Crimes and Misdemeanors. The Founders included “high crimes and misdemeanors” as a reason to impeach a government official, but the interpretation of those charges is fairly broad. President Richard Nixon was impeached for obstruction of justice, abuse of power, and contempt of Congress; he ultimately resigned before the case made its way to the Senate. President Bill Clinton was impeached for lying under oath and obstruction of justice but was acquitted. The difference now is that a former President who was impeached – but acquitted – is running for President again.
In this case it is not about impeachment as such. The Colorado Supreme Court ruled that Trump should be removed from Colorado ballots in 2024 under the “insurrection clause” of the Constitution, even though Trump has not been convicted of any charges related to the January 6 riots. At least a dozen other states have initiatives going forward to remove him from their ballots. It would be historically unprecedented to remove a candidate from the ballot this way, and the Supreme Court has been asked to issue a ruling.
There is no universal disqualifier that holds for every voter and for every candidate. The decision for an individual that a candidate or official should be disqualified is frequently shaped by party affiliation. Nearly all Republicans and a large majority of Democrats think President Biden is too old to run again, yet in November he will still garner millions of votes. Representative Omar and Senator Menendez may well remain in office – generally 85-95% of incumbents win re-election each cycle.
Although Tuesday’s vote on the impeachment articles against Secretary Mayorkas failed, it will likely be brought up again and will keep front and center the question of what disqualifies an official or candidate from office – leaving voters a lot to consider in 2024.
Dr. Tom Copeland is the Director of Research at the Centennial Institute of Colorado Christian University. He writes regularly on public policy and the intersection of politics, culture, and religion. The views expressed by the author are his own and do not represent the views of Centennial Institute or Colorado Christian University.