The GOP-controlled House impeached Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas Tuesday after it rejected the effort earlier this month—making him only the second cabinet secretary in history, and the first since 1876, to be impeached.
Alejandro Mayorkas, Secretary of Homeland Security, appears on "Meet the Press" in Washington D.C., ... [+]
The House approved the impeachment resolution in a 214-213 vote.
Reps. Ken Buck (R-Colo.), Tom McClintock (R-Calif.) and Mike Gallagher (R-Wisc.) voted with all Democrats present to oppose the measure for a second time.
The measure is unlikely to end in Mayorkas’ ejection from office, however, as he is all-but-certain to be acquitted in a Senate trial (two-thirds of the Senate would need to vote to convict him in order for him to be removed).
The House rejected the first impeachment effort on Feb. 6, when the vote ended in a dramatic 215-215 tie before Rep. Blake Moore (Utah) changed his “yea” to a “nay” in order to allow Republicans to re-introduce the measure at a later date.
The impeachment effort comes as the debate over the southern border has emerged as a key issue in the 2024 presidential campaign and days after former President Donald Trump effectively killed legislation that would have implemented new border controls, citing concerns it could boost President Joe Biden’s re-election chances.
House Homeland Security Chair Mark Green (R-Tenn.) unveiled the two articles of impeachment against Mayorkas last month, accusing him of systemic refusal to comply with the law and breach of public trust. The resolution blames Mayorkas for failing to both maintain “operational control” of the border and routinely detain all undocumented immigrants while they await removal proceedings—standards Mayorkas and some legal experts have argued are impossible to meet and that no other administration has. Arrests at the U.S.-Mexico border have sat near record levels in recent years, a trend Republicans blame on Biden’s less stringent border policies, but Biden has blamed on broader trends like crime and poverty in Central America.