U.S. House to take up impeachment of Mayorkas next week over border security
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The House Committee on Homeland Security will hold a full committee hearing on Wednesday as the first step in the impeachment process for Department of Homeland Security chief Alejandro Mayorkas.
The House committee says it is launching the formal impeachment process because of Mayorkas’ “refusal to enforce the laws passed by Congress,” per a House press release.
The Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security oversees administration of immigration laws, border management, security of cyberspaces, counterterrorism efforts and disaster resilience. Mayorkas has served as the secretary of the Department of Homeland Security since February 2021.
When Rep. Mark Green, R-Tenn., launched the House investigation in June 2023, he attributed the current border crisis to Mayorkas being “willfully derelict” in his position as DHS secretary.
Since 2021, Mayorkas “removed 89 policies from two previous administrations,” Green claimed during the initial hearing committee in June. He added, “He has disregarded his oath to the Constitution by ignoring the basic tenets of that Constitution.”
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Mayorkas’ reaction to his formal impeachment process
Wednesday morning, MSNBC reporter Willie Geist asked Mayorkas for his reaction to the impeachment proceedings.
Mayorkas said he was in his office on Tuesday providing “technical advice” and will be in his office Thursday, “working on solutions.” The secretary added, “That’s what we do in the Department of Homeland Security — that’s what this administration is focused on: solutions to problems.”
When Geist asked if he will “cooperate with the hearings” and with the investigation, Mayorkas replied, “I most certainly will. And I’m going to continue to do my work as well.”
During an interview with Fox News on Thursday, Mayorkas was asked “if he would step down if he were impeached by the House,” and he responded that he is proud of the work he does in the Department of Homeland Security.
He said, “I lead 260 (thousand) incredibly dedicated and talented men and women at the Department of Homeland Security. I will continue to lead them in advancing the mission of protecting the American people. … We do so much for the American people, and I’m incredibly proud to do it.”
Meanwhile, the Department of Homeland Security has maintained that the impeachment inquiry is a “baseless political exercise,” according to CNN.
Mia Ehrenberg, a DHS spokesperson, said, “There is no valid basis to impeach Secretary Mayorkas, as senior members of the House majority have attested, and this extreme impeachment push is a harmful distraction from our critical national security priorities,” per The Washington Examiner.
Similarly, Rep. Bennie Thompson, D-Miss., called the the House committee’s action “a political stunt without any foundation in the Constitution,” according to USA Today.
What is the process for impeaching a cabinet secretary?
If a majority of the House votes to remove Mayorkas from his position, the vote will move to the Senate. To actually impeach the Department of Homeland Security secretary, two-thirds of the Senate must vote in favor.
Punchbowl News described Mayorkas’ impeachment as “very unlikely” since Democrats hold a majority in the Senate.
