• Oops!
    Something went wrong.
    Please try again later.
  • Oops!
    Something went wrong.
    Please try again later.

Mayorkas takes oath as homeland security chief

  • Oops!
    Something went wrong.
    Please try again later.
  • Oops!
    Something went wrong.
    Please try again later.

Alejandro Mayorkas has taken the oath of office as President Joe Biden's homeland security secretary after he was confirmed 56-43 by the U.S. Senate. (Feb. 2)

Video Transcript

KAMALA HARRIS: Raise your right hand. I, Alejandro Mayorkas,

ALEJANDRO MAYORKAS: I, Alejandro Mayorkas,

KAMALA HARRIS: Do solemnly swear,

ALEJANDRO MAYORKAS: Do solemnly swear,

KAMALA HARRIS: That I will support and defend,

ALEJANDRO MAYORKAS: That I will support and defend,

KAMALA HARRIS: The Constitution of the United States,

ALEJANDRO MAYORKAS: The Constitution of the United States,

KAMALA HARRIS: Against all enemies,

ALEJANDRO MAYORKAS: Against all enemies,

KAMALA HARRIS: Foreign and domestic,

ALEJANDRO MAYORKAS: Foreign and domestic,

KAMALA HARRIS: That I will bear true faith and allegiance,

ALEJANDRO MAYORKAS: That I will bear true faith and allegiance,

KAMALA HARRIS: To the same,

ALEJANDRO MAYORKAS: To the same,

KAMALA HARRIS: That I take this obligation freely,

ALEJANDRO MAYORKAS: That I take this obligation freely,

KAMALA HARRIS: Without any mental reservation,

ALEJANDRO MAYORKAS: Without any mental reservation,

KAMALA HARRIS: Or purpose of evasion,

ALEJANDRO MAYORKAS: Or purpose of evasion,

KAMALA HARRIS: And that I will well and faithfully discharge,

ALEJANDRO MAYORKAS: And that I will well and faithfully discharge,

KAMALA HARRIS: The duties of the office,

ALEJANDRO MAYORKAS: The duties of the office,

KAMALA HARRIS: On which I'm about to enter,

ALEJANDRO MAYORKAS: On which I am about to enter,

KAMALA HARRIS: So help me, God.

ALEJANDRO MAYORKAS: So help me, God.

KAMALA HARRIS: Congratulations, Mr. Secretary.

ALEJANDRO MAYORKAS: Thank you, ma'am.

KAMALA HARRIS: Congratulations to the whole family.

Recommended Stories

  • Chinese director of 'Nomadland' faces controversy at home

    Chloe Zhao's success — she's the first Asian woman and the second woman ever to win a Golden Globe for best director for her film “Nomadland” — has not been met with universal applause in her country of birth. Censors have removed some social media posts about the film, which has raised questions about whether it will still be released in China. Over the past week, Chinese web users questioned whether Zhao, who was educated in the U.K. and the U.S., was still a Chinese citizen and if she could be counted as Chinese given a critical comment she made about the country in 2013.

  • 'The Walking Dead' teased Daryl's romantic love interest episodes earlier in a small moment you likely missed

    On Sunday's "Talking Dead," Melissa McBride said "TWD" seemed to hint at Lynn Collins' eventual introduction of the show earlier on season 10.

  • Meghan reveals royal life left her suicidal during pregnancy and palace staff took her passport

    Harry admits he was ‘ashamed’ of talking about Meghan’s mental health struggles

  • Prince Harry says he feels ‘really let down’ by Charles as he reveals father stopped taking his calls

    Prince Charles allegedly only took two calls with Prince Harry about so-called “Megxit” before no longer picking up

  • Prince Harry says he's 'disappointed' in Prince Charles, but will work to 'heal' their relationship

    Prince Harry gave an honest assessment of his relationship with his father, Prince Charles, and brother, Prince William, telling Oprah Winfrey that he has "compassion" for both of them because the are "trapped" inside the royal family. During an interview that aired on CBS Sunday night, Harry said he did not "blindside" his grandmother, Queen Elizabeth II, with the news that he would be stepping back from his royal duties, saying he has too much "respect" for her. Last year, Harry and his wife, Meghan Markle, moved from Britain to California, and he said that recently, he's actually spoken to the queen more than usual, and they have a "really good relationship." It's been harder to relate with his father, though. Harry said he is "disappointed" in him, and does not think the family did enough to protect Markle from bad press. "I saw history repeating itself," he said, referring to his mother, the late Princess Diana, who was hounded by tabloids. Harry said he asked for help, but Charles stopped answering his calls. Had he received assistance, "we wouldn't have left," Harry said, but "we did what we had to do." He denied having long ago decided he would leave his royal duties, and Markle backed him up. "I left my career, my life," she said. "I left everything because I love him. Our plan was to do this forever." Harry told Winfrey he has money his mother left him, and believes she would have been "very angry at how this has played out, and sad. But ultimately, all she'd ever want is for us to be happy." Today, Harry said Charles is accepting his phone calls, but "there's a lot to work through there." He thought his father would be more understanding, and "there's a lot of hurt that's happened." It is now one of Harry's "priorities to try and heal that relationship," he added. As for William, Harry said he "loves him to bits" but "we're on different paths." Through Markle, Harry said he was able to see he was stuck in the "institution" he was born into, and his father and brother "are trapped. They don't get to leave. And I have compassion for that." More stories from theweek.comBritain's tabloids, vilified by Harry and Meghan, are all agog over the 'devastating' Oprah interviewWhy the Dr. Seuss 'cancellation' is chillingExperimental antiviral drug shows promise in treating COVID-19

  • The 10 biggest bombshells Prince Harry and Meghan Markle dropped in their Oprah interview

    Meghan Markle revealed that she had suicidal thoughts, while Prince Harry said Charles stopped returning his phone calls.

  • 'The Walking Dead' made an unexpected choice concerning Daryl's romantic life after a decade

    "TWD" is stirring the pot with Daryl's sexuality after 10 seasons. Fans have been vocal on who they have wanted to see Daryl paired with, if anyone.

  • Business leaders warn Nicola Sturgeon of Covid economic firestorm as she argues indy ref two needed

    Scotland's business leaders have pleaded with Nicola Sturgeon to start paying more attention to the economic devastation wrought by the Covid pandemic as she renewed her demands for a second independence referendum. Speaking ahead of the First Minister's statement on Tuesday on easing lockdown, the Scottish Chambers of Commerce (SCC) argued the success of the UK's vaccination programme meant she could allow firms to reopen more quickly. Tim Allan, the business group's president, warned Ms Sturgeon she needs to put out "a fire raging through this country which has burnt up many small businesses." Although health factors have dominated the First Minister's decision-making, he said the vaccine roll-out means she could "take a more balanced approach to the economic harm that has hitherto been shown." Ms Sturgeon insisted that the SNP was "laser-focussed on keeping Scotland safe" but argued that another vote on leaving the UK was needed. Ian Blackford, the SNP's Westminster leader, said last week it could be staged later this year. She highlighted the success of the Covid vaccination programme but did not mention that Scotland doses were procured by the UK Government, or that her ministers had wanted to join the EU's disastrous programme.

  • Top disease expert says US in the 'eye of the hurricane' as COVID cases decline amid growing concern over spread of UK variant

    Osterholm warned about the highly contagious B.1.1.7 variant of the virus that was first discovered in the UK and has "wreaked havoc" in Europe.

  • A Trump appointee who was arrested after participating in the Capitol riot asked a judge if he could be transferred to a cell with no cockroaches

    Federico Klein is believed to the first Trump appointee arrested in connection with the Capitol riot.

  • McConnell planning an 'escape hatch' in case he leaves Senate before term expires, report says

    The Intercept reported that McConnell's political protégé, state Attorney General Daniel Cameron, is at the top of a list of possible successors.

  • Mississippi governor says his goal 'has never been to get rid of the virus' in defense of his decision to end COVID-19 mask mandate

    Several states last week announced plans to end mask mandates despite warnings from experts that such decisions were premature and could lead to surges.

  • Austria suspends AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine batch after death

    Austrian authorities have suspended inoculations with a batch of AstraZeneca's COVID-19 vaccine as a precaution while investigating the death of one person and the illness of another after the shots, a health agency said on Sunday. "The Federal Office for Safety in Health Care (BASG) has received two reports in a temporal connection with a vaccination from the same batch of the AstraZeneca vaccine in the district clinic of Zwettl" in Lower Austria province, it said.

  • Meghan Markle says Kate Middleton made her cry the week of her wedding over a flower girl dress - not the other way around

    During the bombshell CBS interview, Meghan Markle said that a rumor she made Kate Middleton cry was the "beginning of a character assassination."

  • Lindsey Graham said he deals with Trump's 'dark side' because he thinks he has a 'magic' other Republicans don't

    Graham told "Axios on HBO" that Trump could make the party bigger, stronger, and more diverse, but that he "also could destroy it."

  • French billionaire politician killed in helicopter crash

    Olivier Dassault was killed on Sunday in a helicopter crash, a police source said, with President Emmanuel Macron paying tribute to the 69-year old conservative politician.

  • Myanmar coup: Party official dies in custody after security raids

    Activists say the worker for Aung San Suu Kyi's party was beaten after being arrested.

  • A GOP senator who opposed impeachment defends Cheney, Murkowski after Trump amps up attacks

    At his speech at CPAC last week, Trump said the GOP should "get rid" of Cheney and other Republicans who didn't support him during his impeachment.

  • Future of Hong Kong: Inside Hong Kong's new Britain-based pro-democracy movement

    This article is the third in our three-part series, The Future of Hong Kong, looking at how much has changed since the first protests against Beijing's extradition bill two years ago. At 10am every morning, Simon Cheng opens his laptop and gets to work keeping the alarming decline of liberties in Hong Kong in the spotlight. But rather than working with his fellow protesters in Hong Kong, he operates from a kitchen table in London, and his activism is fuelled by cups of Fortnum & Mason tea. Mr Cheng, a former employee of the British Consulate in Hong Kong who was allegedly tortured at the hands of Chinese secret police, fled to the UK and was granted asylum last June. Since then, he has devoted himself to advocacy and activism 6,000 miles away from home, organising resources for Hong Kong people resettling in the UK as the Chinese Communist Party exerts more control over the city. “I need to spend my life doing this; otherwise, we will never have a chance to return to our hometown,” Mr Cheng said, a sentiment many Hong Kong people living in exile share. “We hope that someday we can go back to our hometown, with democracy and freedom.”

  • Rohingyas in India's Jammu fear deportation after police detain over 150

    Indian police have detained more than 150 Rohingya refugees found living illegally in the northern region of Jammu and Kashmir and a process has begun to deport them back to Myanmar, two officials said on Sunday. Dozens of Rohingya are in a makeshift "holding centre" at Jammu's Hira Nagar jail after local authorities conducted biometric and other tests on hundreds of people to verify their identities. "The drive is part of an exercise to trace foreigners living in Jammu without valid documents," said one of the two officials, who declined to be named as they are not authorized to speak to the media.