House Republicans ultimately voted to impeach the Homeland Security secretary. Alejandro Mayorkas exactly one week after her first attempt failed spectacularly.
The two articles of impeachment accuse President Biden's top border official, Mayorkas, of violating immigration law and lying to Congress about the state of the U.S.-Mexico border.
He is the first Cabinet official to be impeached in nearly 150 years and now faces a possible trial in the Democratic-controlled Senate, where he is expected to be acquitted.
The measure passed by just one vote — 214 to 213, after three Republicans, Reps. Ken Buck, R-Colo., Mike Gallagher, R-Wis. and Tom McClintock, R-Calif., joined Democrats in opposing it, calling it “unconstitutional” and setting a “bad precedent” for the GOP in the future.
The Department of Homeland Security immediately attacked House Republicans for impeaching the secretary while simultaneously scrapping the Senate's immigration and foreign aid agreement.
“House Republicans will go down in history for trampling on the Constitution for political gain instead of working to solve the serious challenges at our border,” said DHS spokeswoman Mia Ehrenberg.
“While Secretary Mayorkas helped a group of Republican and Democratic senators develop bipartisan solutions to strengthen border security and provide the resources needed for enforcement, House Republicans wasted months on this baseless, unconstitutional impeachment.”
“History will not look kindly on Republicans in the House of Representatives for their blatant act of unconstitutional partisanship,” President Biden said after the vote.
“The American people do not expect their leaders to abandon real solutions to make policy when they are needed most.” Congress must act to provide me, Secretary Mayorkas, and my administration with the tools and resources the positions needed to deal with the situation at the border.”
Republicans tried to pass the resolution last week but failed because they misjudged the number of Democrats who would be present while Majority Leader Steve Scalise was leaving due to cancer treatment.
They even brought Rep. Hal Rogers, R-Ky., back to the polls in a full chest and neck brace after a car accident. But in the middle of the first impeachment vote, Democrats got an unexpected surprise: Rep. Al Green, D-Texas.
Green was in a wheelchair, still wearing his scrubs and no shoes. He had just undergone surgery but managed at the last second to cast the final vote against impeaching the DHS secretary.
After last week's embarrassing failure, House Republicans rushed to pass the resolution on Tuesday – hours before the results of the race to replace the former lawmaker. George Santos in a special election in New York.
If Democrats win, their slim 219-212 majority will shrink with another tie-breaking vote.
House Republicans ultimately voted to impeach the Homeland Security secretary. Alejandro Mayorkas on his second attempt after last week's spectacular failure. The articles accuse Mayorkas of failing to comply with U.S. immigration law and lying to Congress about the state of the U.S.-Mexico border
Scalise, R-La., returned to Washington after receiving autologous stem cell treatment for multiple myeloma blood cancer. He is now in “complete remission.”
“The only way to stop the border invasion is to replace the Biden administration at the ballot box,” McClintock wrote on Bite Republicans.'
Just moments after losing the impeachment trial last week, a vote to offer Israel $17.6 billion failed to reach the two-thirds majority needed to pass while suspending the rules.
The articles specifically state that Mayorkas is violating U.S. law requiring the detention of migrants who lack authorization to be in the country. He goes beyond his parole authority by allowing migrants to live and work in the U.S. while they wait for asylum claims to be heard.
Mayorkas has rejected such claims and Democrats insist he is only implementing Biden administration policies.
The Border Patrol recorded a record 249,785 apprehensions on the Mexican border in December, nearly a third more than in November and 13 percent more than the previous record in December 2022.
The last Cabinet Secretary to be impeached was Secretary of War William Belknap in 150 years.
Mayorkas blamed congressional inaction for the “broken system” after Republicans scuttled an immigration and foreign aid deal negotiated in the Senate.
“It is certainly a crisis and we bear no responsibility for a broken system,” Mayorkas said. “And we do a tremendous amount of work in this broken system.” But fundamentally, Congress is the only one who can solve the problem.”
Meanwhile, Rep. Gallagher, one of the Republicans who voted against impeachment, said over the weekend that he would not run for re-election at the end of his term.
“Impeachment would not only fail to resolve Mr. Biden’s border crisis, but would also set a dangerous new precedent that will be used against future Republican administrations,” Gallagher wrote in a Wall Street Journal opinion piece about the impeachment effort.
Impeachment only required a simple majority to send the articles to the Senate, where the upper chamber can vote by a simple majority against opening a trial.
Nevertheless, the Republicans have already named their impeachment managers to argue for impeachment before the Senate: Mark Green, Chairman of the Department of Homeland Security, Texas, Michael McCaul, Chairman of the Department of State, Texas, Marjorie Taylor Greene, Georgia, Ben Cline, Virginia, Michael Guest , Miss., Andy Biggs, Arizona, Andrew Garbarino, NY, August Pfluger, Texas, Harriet Hageman, Wyo., Laurel Lee, Florida.
But even the conservative Republicans in the Senate considered the attempt futile.
Sen. Kevin Cramer, R-N.D., last week called it “the stupidest exercise and use of time.”
Sen. Tommy Tuberville, R-Ala., said impeachment would be a “waste” unless it involves President Biden and that Republicans should focus more on making their case to the public in an election year.
Republicans in the House of Representatives strongly rejected the Senate's bipartisan immigration and foreign aid agreement.
On February 12, 2024, migrants attempt to cut through a barbed wire fence erected to prevent the entry of illegal migrants across the Rio Bravo/Grande from Ciudad Juarez, Chihuahua state, Mexico
“What’s rich for me is that the speaker says that.” [border] “The bill in the Senate is… dead on sight. And then they start impeachment proceedings against a Cabinet secretary who is obviously dead on arrival,” Cramer said.
“It will be dead on arrival when it's over, but it will still be the same policy even if Mayorkas were to leave because we have the same president,” said Sen. James Lankford, R-Okla., who issued The development aid and immigration agreement was negotiated with the Democrats for months.
Earlier Tuesday, the Senate passed a $95 billion foreign aid deal that includes money for Ukraine, Israel, Gaza and Taiwan – with immigration provisions removed.
Speaker Mike Johnson said he has no plans to introduce the package to the House. He called it “inadequate” without border security measures and said the Senate “missed the timing.”
“With not a single border policy change from the Senate, the House must continue to impose its own will on these important matters,” Johnson continued. “America deserves better than the status quo of the Senate.”
Mayorkas said Sunday he would not be deterred by the Republican Party's attacks on him.
“These are baseless allegations, Kristen, and that's why I'm really not going to be distracted by them and I'm focused on the work of the Department of Homeland Security,” he said on NBC's “Meet the Press” with Kristen Welker.
“I'm having a busy day today. A busy day after the show. Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, etc. I have a busy day.'