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   From: MeanDog@BiteMe.dash   
      
   DHS’ Noem faces new articles of impeachment backed by dozens of House   
   Democrats   
      
   The effort to hold the Homeland Security secretary to account probably   
   won’t pass, but that doesn’t make it irrelevant.   
   Jan. 14, 2026, 2:32 PM EST   
   By   
   Steve Benen   
      
   After almost a year of scandals, crises and abuses, Homeland Security   
   Secretary Kristi Noem’s public standing has predictably deteriorated. The   
   latest Quinnipiac University poll, for example, found that 52% of Americans   
   disapprove of the South Dakota Republican’s job performance, while only 36%   
   approve. Both numbers are slightly worse than when Quinnipiac asked the   
   same question last summer.   
      
   The DHS secretary is finding plenty of detractors on Capitol Hill, too.   
      
   Last week, Democratic Rep. Robin Kelly of Illinois announced plans to file   
   articles of impeachment against Noem. This week, she followed through —   
   along with quite a few of her colleagues. HuffPost reported:   
      
       With the support of nearly 70 colleagues, Rep. Robin Kelly (D-Ill.) on   
   Wednesday introduced three articles of impeachment against Homeland   
   Security Secretary Kristi Noem.   
      
       The first accuses Noem of obstruction of Congress, for denying   
   lawmakers access to Immigration and Customs Enforcement facilities to   
   provide oversight. The second accuses her of violating public trust, for   
   directing DHS agents to arrest people without warrants and for ignoring due   
   process. The third accuses her of self-dealing, for secretly steering a   
   federal contract to a firm run by her friend.   
      
   “Secretary Noem has called my impeachment effort ‘silly,’” Kelly told   
   reporters. “I want to tell her right now, ‘Secretary Noem, you have   
   violated your oath of office, and there will be consequences. I am watching   
   you. Members of Congress are watching you. The American people, most   
   importantly, are watching you.’”   
      
   Those who don’t follow Capitol Hill at a granular level may not realize   
   this, but every year, members introduce impeachment resolutions that target   
   assorted figures, most of which generate very little attention or support.   
   That includes last year: A still-pending effort to impeach Defense   
   Secretary Pete Hegseth, for example, was introduced in early December, and   
   it’s garnered zero co-sponsors. A related push to impeach Health and Human   
   Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has picked up just one co-sponsor.   
      
   The articles of impeachment against Noem, however, are quantitatively   
   different: Kelly’s resolution was introduced with the support of 69 House   
   Democrats, which represents roughly a third of the party’s conference in   
   the chamber, and there’s no reason to assume that total won’t grow.   
      
      
   For most of American history, only one Cabinet secretary was ever   
   impeached: In 1876, the House impeached Secretary of War William Belknap —   
   after he left office — over alleged bribes. (He was later acquitted by   
   senators.)   
      
   Almost two years ago, Belknap got a little company: Republicans impeached   
   then-Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, despite having   
   uncovered no evidence that the DHS secretary had done anything to merit   
   impeachment.   
      
   Will Noem join the tiny club? Probably not anytime soon: The House   
   Republican majority in the lower chamber is tiny and shrinking, but it   
   exists, and GOP leaders will almost certainly ignore the Democratic effort   
   to hold her accountable.   
      
   But there’s certainly symbolic value in the Democratic effort, which is   
   being used to draw attention to the failures and outrages at the Department   
   of Homeland Security. Watch this space.   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)