U.S. Rep. Blake Moore (R-UT) has scheduled in-person town hall meetings with constituents throughout Utah’s 1st Congressional District this week. Here in Logan, the meeting is slated for 7 p.m. on Wednesday, Feb. 21 in the David B. Haight Alumni Center on the campus of Utah State University.
LOGAN – In a fence-mending effort, U.S. Rep. Blake Moore (R-UT) will return to Utah this week for in-person town hall meetings throughout the 1st Congressional District.
Here in Logan, that meeting with constituents is set for 7 p.m. on Wednesday, Feb. 21 at the David B. Haight Alumni Center on the campus of Utah State University.
In early February, Moore received all sorts of attention in the national media – most of it unwanted, he recalls – regarding the first vote to impeach Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas on Feb. 6.
“I initially voted in favor of that (impeachment) motion,” Moore explains, “But the final vote tally was 215-to-215.”
Under the arcane rules of House of Representatives, a tie means the motion fails and can never be introduced again. That meant that someone needed to “take one for the GOP team” by switching his or her vote to preserve the option of introducing the impeachment motion at a later date.
With Majority Leader Rep. Steve Scalise (R-LA) absent undergoing treatment for cancer, the unpleasant duty fell to Moore.
“As soon as I did it,” Moore says, “I called my communication director and said to her: ‘So, umm, you might be getting some calls tonight.’
“That was definitely an understatement!”
Following that vote, Moore’s office was deluged with what he calls “extremely hateful and vitriolic messages” from constituents. All Moore’s staff could do was educate many of those callers about the House’s parliamentary procedures, explaining that the congressman’s vote had preserved the option to reconsider the impeachment motion.
Moore believes firmly that Mayorkas deserved to be impeached.
“The catastrophe and mayhem at the border is the biggest failure any administration has created in my lifetime,” he says. “The (DHS) secretary and President (Joe Biden) have refused to implement policies that would greatly reduce border activity and squash the (Mexican) cartel’s influence.”
Additionally, he argues, Mayorkas has defied existing laws and lied to Congress.
The House finally voted 214-to-213 to impeach Mayorkas on Feb. 13, with Moore voting his heart with the majority this time.
In addition to the town hall here in Logan, Moore will meet with constituents in Weber and Box Elder counties on Feb. 21; those in Salt Lake County on Feb. 22; and those in Davis County on Feb. 27.