WASHINGTON Republicans on the House Homeland Security Committee on Wednesday approved two articles of impeachment against Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas an entirely baseless effort aimed at helping Donald Trump look tough on border issues ahead of the 2024 presidential election.

The committee voted 18 to 15, along party lines, to approve the GOPs impeachment resolution, which accuses Mayorkas of willful refusal to comply with immigration laws and breaching public trust. The full House could vote as soon as next week to impeach him.

The hearing, which dragged on for 15 hours, was a political stunt. The standard for impeachment, per the Constitution , is committing high crimes and misdemeanors like treason or bribery. Mayorkas, a cabinet secretary charged with carrying out current immigration policy, has not been accused of any such crimes.

The Constitution is very specific, said Rep. Seth Magaziner (D-R.I.). The grounds for impeachment are treason, bribery or other high crimes or misdemeanors. There is no treason alleged or mentioned in these articles. There is no bribery alleged or mentioned in these articles. And no high crimes or misdemeanors, either.

So what did lawmakers do for hours? Democrats mocked the hearing as a sham and laid out why there is no legal basis for impeaching Mayorkas. Republicans responded by highlighting problems at the border, quoting Thomas Jefferson and Supreme Court justices from the 1800s, and somehow concluding that Mayorkas deserves to be impeached.

Were here today not because we want to be, but because we have exhausted all other options, Chairman Mark Green (R-Tenn.) said solemnly at the start of the hearing.

Theres another saying that appropriately describes whats going on here: Just shoveling the same old s**t and calling it sugar, Rep. Dina Titus (D-Nev.) later countered. Thats not what the American people want us to do.