A lawmaker from Texas who belongs to the Democratic party went out of the hospital for a short time to vote against impeaching the homeland security secretary.
Al Green surprised everyone in the House by entering the room in a wheelchair and wearing hospital clothes.
The 76-year-old’s journey from the hospital emergency room after his stomach surgery was very important.
House Republicans did not succeed in getting enough votes to impeach Alejandro Mayorkas, with the final vote being 216-214.
They say it’s Mr. Mayorkas’s fault for more people entering the US border illegally than ever before.
Mr Green talked to his doctors to see if he could go vote. Later, Democratic Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries arranged for transportation for him.
Mr Green’s health was checked by a doctor when he got to the Capitol.
In an interview with the New York Times from his hospital bed, Mr Green said he really wanted to vote but didn’t expect the House to be so split on the impeachment.
I didn’t think my vote would matter when I came to vote. I came because it meant a lot to me.
Mr Green, who has been a House representative for the 9th district of Texas since 2005, said he thinks Mr. Mayorkas is a good person and his reputation should not be ruined.
Critics of US President Joe Biden say Mr. Mayorkas is responsible for the increase in illegal immigration at the US-Mexico border.
The US House did not vote to remove Mayorkas from his job because of the problems at the border.
Marjorie Taylor Greene, a Republican from Georgia, started the process to remove a government official from their job. After the vote, she said she would do it again.
She said Democrats were playing a game by not telling anyone sooner that Mr. Green would vote even though he was in the hospital.
“They kept one of their team members secret until the last moment. They watched to see how we would vote and tried to confuse us,” she told the media after the vote.
Three Republicans who usually support their party, also voted “no” like the Democrats in the House. Blake Moore from Utah changed his vote from yes to no as a way to follow procedure.
MrGreen said he wasn’t playing games and that he was happy to be focusing on his health now.