Republicans in Congress suffered a humiliating sequence of setbacks on Tuesday on essential parts of their agenda, turning the Capitol right into a den of dysfunction that has left a number of main points, together with U.S. army help to Ukraine and Israel, in limbo amid political feuding.
As Republicans within the Senate torpedoed a border deal they’d demanded, the bid by their counterparts within the Home to question Alejandro N. Mayorkas, the homeland safety secretary, collapsed amid Republican defections.
Then got here one final bruising blow. Minutes after Republicans fell one vote in need of impeaching Mr. Mayorkas — a punishment the social gathering has promised its base ever since profitable the bulk — the Home defeated laws they put ahead to ship $17.6 billion in army help to Israel. The measure fell to opposition from Democrats who referred to as it a cynical political ploy to undermine efforts to go a broader international army help invoice together with Ukraine. They have been joined by a clutch of hard-right Republicans, who opposed the measure as a result of the cash was not paired with spending cuts.
Taken collectively, the occasions that unfolded on Capitol Hill on Tuesday provided a vivid portrait of congressional disarray instigated by Republicans, who’re bent on opposing President Biden at each flip however lack a big sufficient majority or the unity to work their will.
They’ve sought to kill bipartisan efforts to ship extra army help to Ukraine and to forge a compromise to safe the border in opposition to an inflow of migrants, proposing as a substitute to assist Israel solely and to push for the elimination of Mr. Biden’s prime immigration official. The back-to-back defeats on Tuesday confirmed that whereas they’re adept at thwarting motion on essential points, they’re hard-pressed to handle any.
The paralysis left the destiny of help to Ukraine and Israel in peril, closing off what had been seen as the very best remaining avenue on Capitol Hill for approval of essential army help to American allies. A broad measure that features each is predicted to fail in a Senate take a look at vote on Wednesday, elevating speedy questions on whether or not Congress may salvage the emergency help bundle — and in that case, how.
And it amounted to a disastrous day for Speaker Mike Johnson roughly 100 days into his speakership, highlighting his razor-thin majority and the unwieldiness of his convention.
In a press release, Mr. Johnson blamed Democrats for opposing the help to Israel, which he mentioned despatched a “rebuke to our closest ally in the Middle East at their time of great need.” He mentioned Republicans had solely unveiled an Israel help invoice devoid of spending cuts as “a major concession” given “the gravity of the situation.”
However he left the Capitol with out addressing what seemed to be a calamitous miscalculation on the impeachment vote, which had been little greater than a political train on condition that the Democratic-led Senate can be all however sure to acquit Mr. Mayorkas.
As an alternative of a present of Republican unity for impeaching Mr. Biden’s prime immigration official, the vote devolved into a rare scene of chaos on the Home flooring that highlighted G.O.P. disarray, as leaders scrounged for the help to push by means of the costs in opposition to Mr. Mayorkas however have been thwarted by their tiny majority.
They vowed to strive once more as quickly as Wednesday.
“House Republicans fully intend to bring Articles of Impeachment against Secretary Mayorkas back to the floor when we have the votes for passage,” Raj Shah, a spokesman for Mr. Johnson, wrote on social media.
Tuesday’s failure underscored Republican divisions over the impeachment. Three G.O.P. lawmakers opposed the decision, warning that it will set a harmful precedent of impeaching administration officers for coverage variations.
In a dramatic denouement, Democrats introduced out Consultant Al Inexperienced of Texas, nonetheless in a hospital robe from having undergone emergency surgical procedure, to vote in opposition to the invoice after he had missed earlier votes. That deadlocked the tally, dooming the impeachment effort, which required a easy majority to go.
Arduous-right Republicans have been furious, and expressed bafflement that their leaders didn’t appear to know precisely what their vote rely can be on a significant vote.
“I would have thought that they would know that,” Consultant Ralph Norman of South Carolina mentioned. “It isn’t that hard.”
Mr. Norman laughed when requested how he may clarify the vote to his constituents.
“The conservative base is going have a real problem with this,” he mentioned. “And they should.”
Consultant Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia, who has led the cost for impeaching Mr. Mayorkas, mentioned she anticipated Home G.O.P. leaders to carry the vote once more in coming days after calling Consultant Steve Scalise of Louisiana, the No. 2 Republican, again to Washington. Mr. Scalise had been away from the Capitol recovering from therapy for a number of myeloma.
Ms. Greene predicted that the Republicans who sunk the measure would “be hearing from their constituents.”
The dysfunction is about to proceed on Wednesday within the Senate when Republicans are anticipated to dam a invoice tying a border compromise to assist for Israel and Ukraine, after most of their members — even those that led the cost to barter it — turned in opposition to the bundle that Home Republicans refused to contemplate amid opposition from former President Donald J. Trump.
“Joe Biden will never enforce any new law and refuses to use the tools he already has today to end this crisis,” mentioned Senator John Barrasso of Wyoming, the No. 3 Republican. “I cannot vote for this bill. Americans will turn to the upcoming election to end the border crisis.”
Kayla Guo and Luke Broadwater contributed reporting.
