Some Dems Are Pushing Back Against Their Colleagues' Efforts To Impeach DHS Secretary Kristi Noem

Some Democratic lawmakers are pushing back against their colleagues' efforts to impeach Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, according to a new report.

Axios detailed that Reps. Adam Gray and Sanford Bishop are among the lawmakers speaking against the initiative. "One of the things I dislike about D.C. a lot is the number of messaging items ... People introduce bills that have no hope of any consequential change in peoples' lives," Gray told the outlet. Bishop, on his end, said it is "quite possible that impeachment could be a distraction."

Rep. Robin Kelly, who is leading the impeachment effort, dismissed criticism, saying the topics the party wants to focus the most on, affordability and health care, are not mutually exclusive.

"Affordability and health care is the thing ... I totally agree with that. But I don't think this is the distraction," she claimed, adding that "all kinds of people are on the bill."

More than 50 Democrats have signed to co-sponsor the articles of impeachment against Noem, a large departure from previous efforts to target President Donald Trump and other members of his cabinet.

Axios detailed that 53 House Democrats had signed on to the bill by Tuesday afternoon. The list includes lawmakers in battleground districts and known centrists in competitive primaries for U.S. Senate seats.

"Under Secretary Noem, DHS and ICE have systemically violated the rights and privacy of Americans, terrorized our cities, and obstructed congress," reads a passage of Kelly's letter calling on colleagues to sign on to the articles.

The articles are set to be unveiled on Wednesday and will accuse Noem of three counts: Obstruction of Congress, Violation of public trust and Self-dealing.

The first one involves cases when lawmakers were prevented from entering DHS facilities and withheld congressionally appropriated disaster relief funding. The second is in regards ICE's denial of due process and violation of First and Fourth amendments to detainees. And the third involves reports that Noem awarded $220 million in contracts to a firm run by the husband of her top spokesperson.

In a statement to the outlet responding to Kelly's announcement, DHS dismissed the impeachment effort as "silly during a serious time," arguing that lawmakers should focus instead on what it said was a sharp rise in assaults against immigration officers.

Noem also brushed aside the criticism in an interview with Fox News over the weekend, saying she remained focused on her job and defending her public statements about the incidents. "Every single thing that I've said has been factual," she said.