The Republican-led House of Representatives has impeached Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas over his alleged failure to enforce border security and immigration laws.
On Feb. 13, the House narrowly impeached Mayorkas in a 214-213 vote. This came exactly a week after an earlier impeachment attempt failed as three GOP congressmen joined Democrats in voting against the measure and another flipped their vote from "yea" to "nay." House Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-LA), who missed the earlier vote as he was undergoing treatment for blood cancer, cast the deciding vote on this second impeachment attempt.
According to ZeroHedge, Mayorkas' tenure as the head of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) saw the unlawful entry of more than 10 million illegal immigrants on U.S. soil – doubling the existing migrant population. For his part, the homeland security secretary denied the House GOP's accusations against him as "baseless."
The House's Feb. 13 impeachment against Mayorkas is only the second in history since the nation's founding. Prior to him, former Secretary of War William Belknap was impeached by Congress in 1876.
House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) accused the secretary of "fueling the worst border catastrophe in American history." He added that Mayorkas "deserves to be impeached, and Congress has a constitutional obligation to do so. Next to a declaration of war, impeachment is arguably the most serious authority given to the House and we have treated this matter accordingly."
However, some lawmakers criticized the move as based on policy disagreements, not allegations of specific crimes. The Democratic Party-led Senate is expected to reject these articles and exonerate Mayorkas, ZeroHedge noted. (Related: House GOP to Mayorkas: RESIGN or be IMPEACHED.)
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Mayorkas accused of breaching public trust
The homeland security secretary reportedly demonstrated a "willful and systemic refusal to comply with the law" and engaged in "breaching the public trust." But Democratic members of Congress suggest that these accusations stem from mere policy disagreements or performance failings, not impeachable crimes.
According to the Wall Street Journal, House GOP leadership moved to hold the vote before the party's leadership potentially shrinks even further. The impeachment pushed through before newly-elected Rep. Tom Suozzi (D-NY) won a special election to replace former Rep. George Santos (R-NY), who was expelled by Congress in December of last year for misappropriating donor funds.
Republicans continued the impeachment effort after rejecting a proposal in the Senate to craft a bipartisan border deal to address many of the same issues House conservatives are raising. The office of Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) expounded on the next steps of Mayorkas' impeachment.
"The House impeachment managers will present the articles of impeachment to the Senate [when its work resumes on Feb. 26]," it told ABC News. "Senators will be sworn in as jurors in the trial next day, [Feb. 27]. Senate President Pro Tempore Patty Murray (D-WA) will preside."
Rep. Mark Green (R-TN), chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee, lauded the lower chamber's successful impeachment vote. The congressman for the Volunteer State, who led the impeachment investigation, contended that Mayorkas' conduct is disqualifying regardless if it is criminal or not.
"Our country has suffered from an unprecedented border crisis that has turned every state into a border state, causing untold suffering in communities across our country. With this vote, Congress has made clear that we will not tolerate such lawlessness," wrote Green.
"The founders designed impeachment not just to remove officials engaged in criminal behavior, but those guilty of such gross incompetence that their conduct had endangered their fellow Americans, betrayed the public trust and represented a neglect of duty."
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Watch this Fox News report about the House's Feb. 13 impeachment of Mayorkas.
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