Republicans in the House of Representatives are celebrating their successful effort to impeach Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas.
The House voted 214-213 in favor of removing the cabinet member on Feb. 13. Only three Republicans joined House Democrats in voting against the motion. Two Democrats – Congresswoman Judy Chu of California and Congresswoman Lois Frankel of Florida – and two Republicans – Congressman Brian Mast of Florida and Congresswoman Maria Salazar of Florida – did not vote.
“More than 10 million illegal aliens, 360 terrorists, 90,000 convicted criminals and 26 tons of fentanyl have been welcomed into our country by Secretary Mayorkas and Joe Biden,” said Arizona Congressman Paul Goasr in an email after the vote. “Their open border policies and willful disregard for the law have put our entire country in harm’s way.”
“By choosing to ignore the laws, instructing border patrol agents to welcome, caress and help illegal aliens, Secretary Mayorkas has violated his Constitutional oath of office and deserves impeachment,” he added.
Speaker of the House Mike Johnson praised the House Homeland Security Committee for its “careful and methodical approach” to the investigation into Mayorkas.
“From his first day in office, Secretary Mayorkas has willfully and consistently refused to comply with federal immigration laws, fueling the worst border catastrophe in American history,” said Johnson in a statement released just after 7:20 P.M. “He has undermined public trust through multiple false statements to Congress, obstructed lawful oversight of the Department of Homeland Security, and violated his oath of office.”
Johnson said Mayorkas “deserves to be impeached, and Congress has a constitutional obligation to do so.”
Congressman Tim Burchett of Tennesee posted a video leaving the House floor of the vote affirming that on their second attempt, Republicans had enough votes to impeach Mayorkas.
“He lied under oath,” said Burchett. “He said our border is safe and, in fact, it is not safe. It is a very dangerous place… It was a good vote.”
“Securing our country’s borders is a basic responsibility of federal government, and the American people have a right to expect that responsibility to be fulfilled,” said Virginia Congresswoman Jen Kiggans in a message on X. “Secretary Mayorkas has allowed the self-inflicted crisis at our southern border to spiral out of control by refusing to enforce the laws we have on the books and repeatedly lying to Congress about how this refusal has led to unprecedented levels of illegal immigration, worsened the fentanyl crisis, enriched violent cartels, and causing debilitating human and financial costs.”
Mayorkas’s impeachment was denounced by Democrats.
“Tonight, we did a foolish thing,” said Congresswoman Shelia Jackson Lee while speaking from the chamber. “And that is to pass an impeachment of a very qualified and effective secretary of homeland security. … Do not be impacted, Secretary Mayorkas, by this false attempt to diminish you.”
President Joe Biden warned that “history will not look kindly on House Republicans for their blatant act of unconstitutional partisanship that has targeted an honorable public servant in order to play petty political games.”
“Homeland Security Secretary Mayorkas, a Cuban immigrant who came to the United States with his family as political refugees, has spent more than two decades serving America with integrity in a decorated career in law enforcement and public service,” Biden continued in a statement released by the White House. “Instead of staging political stunts like this, Republicans with genuine concerns about the border should want Congress to deliver more border resources and stronger border security. Sadly, the same Republicans pushing this baseless impeachment are rejecting bipartisan plans Secretary Mayorkas and others in my administration have worked hard on to strengthen border security at this very moment — reversing from years of their own demands to pass stronger border bills.”
Mayorkas will not be officially removed from his position until a two-thirds majority of the Senate, which is currently controlled by Democrats, votes in favor of impeachment.
