Could We Recall Rep. Herrell? No.

As I was writing my most recent Sun-News column and Las Cruces city councilors were placing on Monday's agenda a resolution condemning the recent misconduct of Yvette Herrell, a friend was inquiring of the Progressive Voter Alliance whether or not voters could recall Rep. Herrell.

For better or for worse, no!

The U.S. Constitution contains no recall mechanism, and no senator or congressperson has ever been recalled by the electorate.  The Constitution's framers did debate the idea.  Maryland's Luther Martin advocated a recall provision, and certain states tried and failed to amend the constitution to add such a provision.  (Most recall provisions in state constitutions were probably implemented in the Progressive Era around 1900 to 1914.)

In 1992, Arkansas voters relied on the 10th Amendment statement that "The powers not delegated to the United States . . nor prohibited . . . are reserved to the States, respectively, or to the people," in amending their state constitution to provide for states to the terms of Congresspersons and Senators.  However, the U.S. Supreme Court held the amendments unconstitutional, writing that in our complex federal system, "Once the representatives chosen by the people of each State assemble in Congress, they form a national body and are beyond the control of the individual States until the next election."

However, individual chambers can expel members by way of expulsion, but that required a two-thirds majority.  There have been only 20 cases of expulsion in the history of the United States.  Expulsion has been used to punish members who have committed a serious crime, abused their power, or been "disloyal" to the U.S. 

New Mexico is not even among the 19 states in which the voters can recall state elected officials, as had been done on occasion in California.  (We are among 39 states that have provisions for recalling local officials.)

I share my friend's concern over Ms. Herrell's abysmal start as a Congresswoman.  However, having witnessed the abuse of the recall at the local level a few years ago, I suppose I have mixed feelings about this issue.  It's already problematic that the two-year Congressional term is so completely about politics rather than government.  Interfering with possibly trivial recall procedures could exacerbate that.  

New Mexicans could petition Congress urging expulsion of Ms. Herrell; but my wild guess is that success would be extremely unlikely.  Petitions take a lot of hard work; and the Democrats in the House, after impeaching Trump again (as, of course, he deserved) and trying to deal with Marjorie Taylor Greene (probably by stripping her of committee assignments, probably with some Republican cooperation) will not be excited about a similar effort, particularly because it would appear unduly partisan.  It seems likely, if she keeps to her current course, that Ms. Herrell will undermine her own viability as a candidate for re-election in 2022: she won't have Trump coattails, will have shown a lot of independents and moderate Democrats her true colors; and the district could be redrawn a little more equitably.   As things look now, fanatical loyalty to Mr. Trump will not age that well, even with many Republican voters.