House Republicans promised accountability was coming for the Biden administration, and accountability is coming — hopefully.
Last week, the House Homeland Security Committee advanced articles of impeachment against Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, and two hours of debate have been scheduled for Tuesday, according to Fox News’s Chad Pergram.
Pergram also confirmed the names of the 11 impeachment managers.
2) 11 House “impeachment managers.” They serve as prosecutors, making the case to the Senate in a prospective impeachment trial for DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas.
— Chad Pergram (@ChadPergram) February 6, 2024
4) (con’t)
Rep. Andrew Garbarino (R-NY)
Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA)
Rep. August Pfluger (R-TX)
Rep. Harriet Hageman (R-WY)
Rep. Laurel Lee (R-FL)— Chad Pergram (@ChadPergram) February 6, 2024
Impeaching a cabinet official is rare but not unprecedented. The last time it happened was in 1876 with the impeachment of Secretary of War William Belknap.
The articles of impeachment accuse Mayorkas of violating his oath to support and defend the Constitution of the United States.
“Throughout his tenure as Secretary of Homeland Security, Alejandro N. Mayorkas has repeatedly violated laws enacted by Congress regarding immigration and border security,” the impeachment resolution reads. “In large part because of his unlawful conduct, millions of aliens have illegally entered the United States on an annual basis with many unlawfully remaining in the United States. His refusal to obey the law is not only an offense against the separation of powers in the Constitution of the United States, it also threatens our national security and has had a dire impact on communities across the country.”
The resolution continued, “Despite clear evidence that his willful and systemic refusal to comply with the law has significantly contributed to unprecedented levels of illegal entrants, the increased control of the Southwest border by drug cartels, and the imposition of enormous costs on States and localities affected by the influx of aliens, Alejandro N. Mayorkas has continued in his refusal to comply with the law, and thereby acted to the grave detriment of the interests of the United States.”
The resolution also points out that Mayorkas has “knowingly made false statements, and knowingly obstructed lawful oversight of the Department of Homeland Security […] principally to obfuscate the results of his willful and systemic refusal to comply with the law.”
House Homeland Security Committee Chairman Mark Green, (R-Tenn.) called the case against Mayorkas “irrefutable.”
“These articles lay out a clear, compelling, and irrefutable case for Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas’ impeachment,” Green said in a statement last month. “The results of his lawless behavior have been disastrous for our country.”
However, Democrats, who impeached Donald Trump twice for dubious reasons, claim there’s no legal basis for impeaching Mayorkas.
“What is glaringly missing from these articles is any real charge or even a shred of evidence of high crimes or misdemeanors — the Constitutional standard for impeachment,” Rep. Bennie Thompson (D-Miss.), the top Democrat on the Homeland Security Committee, said in a statement. “That should come as no surprise because Republicans’ so-called ‘investigation’ of Secretary Mayorkas has been a remarkably fact-free affair.”
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The real question though is whether Republicans have the votes to impeach him. They can only afford to lose three votes, and Reps. Ken Buck (R-Colo.) and Tom McClintock (R-Calif.) have already said they will vote against impeaching him. Nevertheless, House GOP Majority Whip Tom Emmer expressed confidence Republicans have the votes to impeach Mayorkas.
“We’re whipping Republican votes,” Emmer told CNN. “I’m confident we are going to pass it.”