On Tuesday, Republicans in the U.S. House of Representatives successfully impeached Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro N. Mayorkas for his mishandling of the border security crisis, a vote that followed a widely-panned failed attempt last week.
[RELATED: Impeach Mayorkas: The Case Against the U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security…]
“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. 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,” said Speaker of the House Mike Johnson (R-Louisiana), in a statement following the impeachment.
The articles of impeachment passed through the house with an extremely slim, one-vote majority, ending with a vote of 214-213.
The vote was largely split along party lines, except for three Republicans who voted with Democrats against the measure, Reps. Ken Buck (R-Colorado), Tom McClintock (R-California), and Mike Gallagher (R-Wisconsin).
Two members from each party refrained from voting entirely.
Last week, the impeachment attempt failed with a 214-216 vote, with the same three Republicans opposing the motion, and another, Rep. Blake Moore (R-Utah), switching to a “nay” vote at the last minute to break the tie, and allow the motion to be taken-up again later.
During the second vote, Republicans were able to impeach Mayorkas because Rep. Steve Scalise (R-Louisiana), who was absent from the first vote while undergoing a medical procedure, returned to support his party in the second vote.
Following the impeachment vote, the charges against Mayorkas will now be heard in the Democrat-controlled U.S. Senate, where Senators will hold a trial and ultimately vote on whether to convict Mayorkas.
Regardless of Mayorkas’s rule in chaos unfolding at the southern border, a conviction in the Senate is extremely unlikely, because, unlike the House impeachment vote, a conviction requires a two-thirds majority vote in the Senate. Given the realities of border politics and the composition of the Senate, it’s unlikely that the 49 Republican Senators will be able to draw in enough Democrats for a supermajority — even if every GOP member voted to convict.
Following the House vote, President Joe Biden issued a press release criticizing the impeachment and praising Mayorkas.
“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,” said President Biden, “He has upheld the rule of law faithfully and has demonstrated a deep commitment to the values that make our nation great.”
Biden also used the press release to criticize House Republicans for opposing the recent spending bill, which Democrats have characterized as the only way to solve the growing illegal immigration crisis.
The border bill was opposed by conservatives because it provided far more resources for foreign aid to countries like Israel and Ukraine than it did for the U.S. border, and because it is fully within the power of Biden to fix the border crisis without any additional legislation.
