A Republican-led committee has agreed to send the impeachment trial of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas to the full chamber – with a vote taking place as early as today.
The House Rules Committee voted along party lines, 8-4, after midnight Wednesday to take steps toward impeaching Mayorkas for a “deliberate and systematic” refusal to enforce laws protecting America’s borders.
If Mayorkas is voted in, he would be the first Cabinet official to be ousted in nearly 150 years.
The articles of impeachment say Mayorkas “has refused to comply with federal immigration laws” and that he “violated the public trust” after confirming to Congress that the US-Mexico border is secure amid of the enormous migrant crisis in the US.
The Secretary of Homeland Security has said the claims against him are “politically motivated and completely baseless” and that the country is “doing everything we can within a broken system to incentivize noncitizens to use legal routes to avoid consequences.” to those who don’t. and reducing irregular migration.’
Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas could be impeached on Tuesday after articles say he has ‘refused to comply with federal immigration laws’ and has ‘violated the public trust’
In December, 300,000 border crossings were recorded across the US-Mexico border. Mayorkas has argued that his agencies were seriously under-resourced
If impeached, Mayorkas would still have to be convicted by the Senate after a trial to be removed as secretary. That move is unlikely because Democrats have the majority in the Senate.
Mayorkas said whether he would be willing to defend himself if the Senate holds a trial.
During the House Homeland Security Committee’s vote last week, all Republicans on the committee voted in favor, while the Democrats united against it.
“We cannot allow this man to remain in office any longer,” said chairman Mark Green.
The Homeland Committee hearing last Tuesday descended into chaos as Democrats overdid their delaying tactics and Rep. Robert Garcia, D-Calif. compared Donald Trump’s hardline immigration policies to Adolf Hitler.
The frenzied and lengthy hearing lasted late into the night due to the highly political nature of the resolution, which accused Mayorkas of high crimes and misdemeanors.
Democrats filed amendments and other procedural motions to keep the hearing live and further postponed the vote.
Majority Leader Steve Scalise insisted the articles of impeachment would go to the House floor this week.
The resolution on Mayorkas’ impeachment came to the fore as the number of border crossings reached new records in recent months — including 300,000 in December alone — and came ahead of Joe Biden’s impeachment inquiry.
“This is a terrible day for the committee, the United States, the Constitution and our great country,” said Rep. Bennie Thompson of Mississippi, the committee’s top Democrat.
If impeached, Mayorkas would still have to be convicted by the Senate after a trial to be removed as secretary. That move is unlikely because Democrats have the majority in the Senate
Referring to Trump’s campaign slogan “Make America Great Again,” Thompson said the “MAGA-led impeachment of Secretary Mayorkas is a baseless sham.”
Only one Cabinet member has ever been impeached before: War Secretary William Belknap in 1876. He was not convicted by the Senate.
At a recent news conference in January, Mayorkas continued to denounce as false Republican claims that DHS is not enforcing laws at the border.
He said more migrants who entered the country illegally had been expelled and then allowed to stay since Biden took office, and argued that his agencies were seriously under-resourced.
In response to a scathing seven-page letter to House Homeland Security Chairman Mark Green, R-Tenn., Mayorkos said the allegations against him are false. In response, Greene told DailyMail.com that he is “inadequate and inappropriate for a Cabinet secretary.”
On September 28, migrants are seen jumping over barbed wire in Eagle Pass, Texas. Mayorkos said the “false accusations” against him have not “deranged” or “distracted” him from the “broader public mission”
Mayorkas wrote a scathing seven-page letter to House Homeland Security Chairman Mark Green, R-Tenn., last Tuesday morning, just hours before the Republican Party was set to release articles of impeachment against him.
“I assure you that your false accusations do not upset me or distract me from the law enforcement and broader public service to which I have devoted most of my career and to which I remain committed,” he said.
The Homeland Security secretary insisted he has done the best he can with the resources at his disposal — and further restrictions will require an act of Congress.
Mayorkas has been involved in bipartisan discussions in the Senate over a national security relief and border package that Republicans in the House of Representatives have largely rejected.
Green fired back in a statement to DailyMail.com, calling Mayorkas’ “eleventh response” this morning “inadequate and unbecoming of a Cabinet secretary.”