Behind the scenes: The House’s vote to impeach Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas was frontpage news. What didn’t make the headlines was Heritage’s indispensable role behind the scenes. Here’s a very brief timeline: 

• February 2022: Heritage President Dr. Kevin Roberts first calls for Mayorkas’ impeachment, citing his failure to defend our homeland. 
• April 2022: Following Mayorkas’ congressional testimony, Heritage’s Lora Ries reiterates our institutional position that Congress should impeach him.  
• October 2022: Heritage’s Oversight Project uncovers evidence that Mayorkas lied about border agents whipping illegal aliens—a fact included in the second article of impeachment. 
• November 2022: After the midterm elections, Heritage visiting fellows Tom Homan and Mark Morgan published an article on why the new Congress should impeach Mayorkas. 
• December 2022: Our Oversight Project shows how NGOs are helping the Biden administration with a mass relocation of illegal aliens. 
• February 2023: Heritage’s Steve Bradbury, Lora Ries, and Hans von Spakovsky lay out a detailed case for impeachment, much of which ended up in the two House articles. 
• February 2023: Heritage hosts an educational impeachment forum with a dozen lawmakers and several Heritage scholars. 

Heritage continued to lay out the case for Mayorkas’ impeachment in print, on air, and on social media, and our Government Relations team provided technical assistance to Congress. Heritage Action for America activated its 2 million-strong grassroots army to pressure lawmakers to vote for the articles. 

Facepalm: This bill has more problems than Swiss cheese has holes. Heritage experts break it down.  

• The $95 billion of proposed spending isn’t offset by decreases in spending elsewhere—meaning all this money will be added to the national debt. 
• Not to mention that the bill would send billions more to Ukraine without oversight, plus billions in humanitarian aid to the Middle East that could be diverted for use by Hamas.  

Read the full analysis here.  

Decade of decline: One of the most disastrous and consequential results of skyrocketing home prices is the dip in marriage and birth rates.  

• “Failed public policies are undermining the institution of marriage in America,” writes Research Fellow EJ Antoni.  
• “Rates of both marriage and childbirths have been trending down for decades, but the current cost-of-living crisis is poised to accelerate these declines.” Read more here. 

The dating crisis isn’t helping, either. Read about that here.  

Changes: As homeless populations increase around the country, government officials have fixated on the idea that free housing will solve homelessness. But this is a Band-Aid fix that has failed on several counts. Our leaders need more permanent solutions than free housing. 

• “Helping the homeless should focus on addressing the underlying causes, rather than continuing to fixate on symptoms,” writes Research Fellow Rachel Sheffield. 

Read more about the real solutions to homelessness here. 

Compromised: Foreign individuals and governments can bring money to U.S. universities with little or no oversight.  

• “Financial leverage enables donors to have special influence on policies, programs, and hires that could affect the donors’ interests,” write Heritage education experts Jay Greene, Ph.D., Adam Kissel, and Lindsey Burke, Ph.D. 
• This becomes an issue with adversarial countries, like Communist China.  

Find out what Congress can do to protect American interests here.  

High school students across the country are facing indoctrination from the Left. It’s time to prepare them to defend their values, speak the truth, and oppose the radical ideas they encounter daily. The Academy arms them with the knowledge they need to win the battle of ideas. 

• The Academy is an eight-week, online fellowship focused on America’s Founding principles and the most pressing public policy issues of our time. 
• Our High School Track allows students to get involved in the national conversation and meet other young conservatives from across the country. 

The spring session begins next week. Apply today! 

What: Heritage runs a free, two-day, intensive training program called Ready, Set, HILL! for conservatives aspiring to work on Capitol Hill. 

Why: The country needs more conservative professionals who are trained and effective serving House and Senate members.   

Where: The training can be completed virtually or in person in Washington, DC.   

When: Applications are due on Feb. 26. The training will be held on Feb. 29 and March 1. Learn more here.  

• How Your Tax Dollars Support the Radical Left: A Case Study—David Ditch 
• America Should Ban Chinese EVs—Diana Furchtgott-Roth 
• America Needs a ‘Black Wives Matter’ Movement to Rebuild the Black Family—Delano Squires
• Government Is Undercounting Housing Inflation—EJ Antoni 
• Reversing the Department of Education’s Anti-Market Orientation in Higher Education—Adam Kissel 
• Leftists Come After Families of Kids with Special Needs—Jason Bedrick 
• In 2024, the U.S. Military Is Weak…and That Should Scare You—Dakota L. Wood 
• Federal Appeals Court Foils Another Biden Abortion Scheme—Thomas Jipping 
• China Is Winning the Battle for the Red Sea, America Has Retired as World Policeman—Nathan Levine 
• Evaluation of the Competing House Bills on FISA Reform—Steven G. Bradbury 
• High Electricity Prices Have Europe Facing Deindustrialization; Don’t Let It Happen Here—Mario Loyola 
• Crime Is Way Up in D.C. Because U.S. Attorney Matthew Graves Won’t Do His Job—Zack Smith and Charles Stimson 
• Missouri’s Chance to Hold China Accountable for COVID—Michael J. Ellis 

ICYMI: The Legal Issues Behind the Colorado Ballot Disqualification Case 

On Feb. 7, Heritage’s John Malcolm moderated a discussion with Josh Blackman (co-author of a law review article on the subject), Indiana Attorney General Todd Rokita (who is leading a coalition of 27 states supporting Trump), Patrick Strawbridge of Consovoy McCarthy (former Supreme Court clerk), and Heritage Senior Fellow Hans von Spakovsky. Watch it here.