Tennessee Republican files articles of impeachment against Harris

Rep. Andy Ogles (R-Tenn.) filed articles of impeachment against Vice President Harris on Tuesday, as Republicans ramp up attacks while she launches a presidential campaign.

The filing expands on previously introduced articles that target Harris’s record on immigration, a GOP rallying cry against the vice president.

He added a second article in the new filing, which claims Harris covered up President Biden’s mental well-being, constituting a “breach of public trust.” While Biden ended his reelection campaign Monday, he has maintained that he will finish his term and is in good health.

“Kamala Devi Harris has knowingly misled the people of the United States and the Congress of the United States, principally to obfuscate the physical and cognitive well-being of the President of the United States, Joe Biden,” the filing reads.

The initial articles, filed June 12, 2023, claim Harris has “demonstrated extraordinary incompetence in the execution of her duties and responsibilities, a stark refusal to uphold the existing immigration laws, and a palpable indifference to people of the United States suffering as a result of the ongoing southern border crisis in the United States.”

It references Harris as “border czar,” an unofficial title given to the vice president by media early in the Biden administration when she was tasked with leading diplomacy with Central American countries to stifle illegal immigration.

The filing also lists some crimes allegedly committed by immigrants in the U.S. illegally, including the death of student Laken Riley, which have been highlighted by Republicans, in particular, as well as recent border crossing statistics.

“In all of this, Kamala Devi Harris willfully and systematically refused to uphold the immigration laws, failed to control the border to the detriment of national security, compromised public safety, and violated the rule of law, to the manifest injury of the people of the United States,” the articles read.

The initial filing has not gone beyond its introduction.

Arrests at the U.S.-Mexico border reached their lowest point of Biden’s presidency in June, falling to 83,000 arrests, U.S. Customs and Border Protection announced last week.

Also Tuesday, Ogles called on Harris to invoke the 25th Amendment against Biden, citing his health, an action that would make her the acting president.

Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas was impeached in the House on similar claims over immigration policy in February. The articles were dismissed by the Senate.

Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-Colo.) filed articles of impeachment against Harris in 2021 regarding the U.S. withdrawal of troops from Afghanistan. They were never considered by the Judiciary Committee.

The Hill has reached out to the White House for comment.

Mychael Schnell contributed.