U.S. Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas holds an interview at a U.S. Border Patrol station on January 08, 2024 in Eagle Pass, Texas.
John Moore|Getty Images
The Republican- led House of Representatives on Tuesday impeached Homeland Security Secretary  Alejandro Mayorkas,  just the 2nd time in U.S. history that a Cabinet member has actually been impeached.
The House by the barest of margins, 214-213, authorized 2 posts of impeachment versus Mayorkas, declaring that he purposefully broke federal migration laws and obstructed congressional oversight of the Department of Homeland Security.
Mayorkas deals with the possibility of a trial in the Senate, where he is all however specific to be acquitted by the chamber’s Democratic bulk. The Senate, which is on recess up untilFeb 26, will either dismiss the impeachment posts outright or send out the trial to an unique committee to hear proof.
“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,” President Joe Biden stated in a declaration after the vote.
The White House has actually consistently condemned the impeachment effort over the previous year, calling it a political diversion by Republicans, who declined $20 billion of border security financing in a bipartisan Senate offer recently.
“While Secretary Mayorkas was helping a group of Republican and Democratic Senators develop bipartisan solutions to strengthen border security and get needed resources for enforcement, House Republicans have wasted months with this baseless, unconstitutional impeachment,” the Department of Homeland Security stated in a declaration after the vote.
Two Democrats,Reps Judy Chu of California and Lois Frankel of Florida, were missing from the Tuesday vote, enabling Republicans to clinch the bulk.
Chu was separating after evaluating favorable for Covid-19 She would have voted versus the impeachment had she been on the House flooring, she stated in a post on X on Tuesday night.
The GOP-led impeachment movement was a little redemption for House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La, and Republican hard-liners after the exact same effort stopped working recently.
Johnson informed NBC News that Republicans were “happy to get the job done” following the vote Tuesday night.
This time around, Republicans were positive they would have the bulk vote to impeach now that House Majority Leader Steve Scalise, R-La, has actually gone back to Washington after cancer treatment, which avoided him from breaking recently’s 215-215 tie.
“There’s always concerns, but no, it will pass,” Majority Whip Tom Emmer, R-Minn, stated Tuesday ahead of the vote. “All the Republicans will be back and it’ll pass.”
That optimism still depended upon a razor-thin House Republican bulk, which was threatened by a Northeast snowstorm that legislators feared would hinder travel to CapitolHill Even with all the GOP members present, Republicans might just manage to lose 3 members of their caucus ballot versus the impeachment.
During last Tuesday’s vote,Reps Ken Buck of Colorado, Mike Gallagher of Wisconsin and Tom McClintock of California, crossed celebration lines to assist Democrats sink the impeachment effort. All 3 supported their “no” votes Tuesday night.
Days after he assisted tank the impeachment recently, Gallagher revealed that he would not look for reelection for a 5th House term, leaving his seat up for grabs in an essential swing state.
Tuesday’s impeachment revote occurred hours before surveys close in a New York unique election to fill ex-Rep George Santos’ seat, which would even more squeeze the House Republican bulk if Democratic prospect Tom Suozzi dominates.
Johnson and ultraconservative Republicans see Mayorkas’ impeachment as an essential part of their more comprehensive siege versus the Biden administration’s handling of the southern border, which has actually seen record varieties of migrant crossings in current months.
Mayorkas has actually competed that mayhem at the border is not his fault however rather a sign of the nation’s decadeslong damaged migration system. The Department of Homeland Security provided a memo, arguing that Republicans’ accusations were incorrect and did not fulfill the legal requirement of impeachment.
“We don’t bear responsibility for a broken system,” Mayorkas stated Sunday on NBC’s “Meet the Press.”
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