Homeland Security Secretary Mayorkas impeached by the House: What happened and what's next
The charges now head to the Senate, where Democrats are likely to reject them.
The House of Representatives impeached Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas on Tuesday night in a razor-thin 214-213 vote for allegedly violating U.S. immigration laws in his handling of the southern U.S. border.
Mayorkas is the first Cabinet official to be impeached in nearly 150 years. The last time that happened was in 1876, when the House impeached Secretary of War William Belknap over kickbacks in government contracts.
Here’s a quick guide to what led up the impeachment vote — and what comes next.
?? What happened?
The vote came a week after House Republicans failed to impeach Mayorkas, when four Republicans — Reps. Tom McClintock of California, Ken Buck of Colorado, Mike Gallagher of Wisconsin and Rep. Blake Moore of Utah — joined all 212 Democrats in rejecting the measure.
Moore supported impeachment but flipped his vote at the last minute, later saying it was a “procedural move” so that House Republicans could bring up the impeachment vote again at a later time. On Tuesday night, Moore and Rep. Steve Scalise — a Louisiana Republican who had missed last week’s impeachment vote because he was being treated for blood cancer — voted in favor of impeaching Mayorkas, and the resolution passed. McClintock, Buck and Gallagher still voted against it.
?? What was in the impeachment resolution?
The resolution, which was originally introduced by Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia in November, included two articles of impeachment against Mayorkas, alleging that the homeland security secretary had committed “high crimes and misdemeanors” by failing to enforce U.S. immigration policies along the southern border, allowing for a record surge of illegal crossings in recent months.
House Speaker Mike Johnson of Louisiana said in a statement that Mayorkas “deserves to be impeached, and Congress has a constitutional obligation to do so.”
“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,” Johnson said. “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.”
???? What was the Biden administration’s response?
President Biden blasted the impeachment vote by House Republicans as a "blatant act of unconstitutional partisanship."
"This impeachment already failed once on a bipartisan vote,” Biden said in a statement. “Instead of staging political stunts like this, Republicans with genuine concerns about the border should want Congress to deliver more border resources and stronger border security."
The Department of Homeland Security slammed the impeachment vote too.
“Without a shred of evidence or legitimate Constitutional grounds, and despite bipartisan opposition, House Republicans have falsely smeared a dedicated public servant who has spent more than 20 years enforcing our laws and serving our country," DHS spokeswoman Mia Ehrenberg said in a statement.
House Republicans, she added, will be "remembered by history for trampling on the Constitution for political gain rather than working to solve the serious challenges at our border.”
↘? Who is Alejandro Mayorkas?
Mayorkas, 64, was born in Havana, Cuba, and came to the United States as a 1-year-old when his family fled the country. He has served as secretary of homeland security since February 2021. He was nominated for the position by then-President-elect Biden in November 2020 and confirmed by the Senate in a 56-43 vote. Previously, Mayorkas served as director of U.S. citizenship and immigration services and deputy homeland security secretary under President Barack Obama.
??? So what happens now?
The resolution now heads to the Democrat-controlled Senate.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer — who called the impeachment vote a "sham" — said the Senate will consider the impeachment charges when the chamber returns after Presidents' Day.
It’s unclear how long the trial will last, or if there will even be one.
“It remains to be seen how Democrats plan to deal with the charges procedurally,” CNN noted, “but they could dismiss them on a simple majority vote before each side argues its case.”
