WASHINGTON ― Rep. Ken Buck (R-Col.) said Thursday that he opposes impeaching Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas.

Republicans are planning an impeachment vote against Mayorkas next week over his alleged deliberate refusal to detain and deport migrants arriving at the southern U.S. border.

Buck said the border chaos doesn’t amount to a high crime or misdemeanor on Mayorkas’ part and that he’s a “solid” no on impeaching him.

“It’s maladministration. He’s terrible, the border is a disaster, but that’s not impeachable,” Buck told reporters outside the House chamber.

Buck’s opposition will make it more difficult for Republicans to push the articles of impeachment through the House. Depending on how many lawmakers might be absent ― two Republicans are currently out for health issues ― it’s theoretically possible that Buck himself could tank the impeachment effort.

As House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) put it on Tuesday, “We have only a tiny, as you know, razor thin, actually a one-vote majority right now in the House.”

It’s possible other Republicans won’t support impeaching Mayorkas. Rep. Tom McClintock (R-Calif.) said Wednesday that he’s undecided. His office did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Thursday.

Buck’s beef with impeachment echoes criticism from many quarters, including from conservative legal scholars, who have said Republicans are bogusly elevating a policy difference into a high crime.

Buck has previously spoken out against the impeachment inquiry against President Joe Biden, saying his colleagues lack evidence. However, he ultimately voted with his party to formally authorize the inquiry last year.

The House Homeland Security Committee voted in favor of the impeachment articles against Mayorkas this week. Buck, who is not a member of the committee, said its chairman, Mark Green (R-Tenn.), visited him at his office to make the case. He said he’s also speaking to people outside of Congress.

“The people that I’m talking to on the outside, constitutional experts, former members, agree that this just isn’t an impeachable offense,” Buck said.

Jennifer Bendery contributed reporting.

Related…