U.S. House Republicans are moving forward and intend to prove that Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas is “derelict in his duty” over handling the surge of migrants at the U.S.-Mexico border.
The chairman of the Homeland Security Committee, Rep. Mark Green, launched Mayorkas impeachment proceedings, even as a bipartisan group of senators has been engaged in almost daily negotiations with Mayorkas over a landmark border security package.
Opening the hearing, Green, a Republican from Tennessee, said there is “no reasonable alternative but to pursue the possibility of impeachment” as border crossing hit record highs, topping 10,000 on some days.
Impeaching a Cabinet secretary is rare, having only happened once before in the nation’s history when the House impeached Defense Secretary William Belknap in 1876 over kickbacks in government contracts.
With the House GOP’s impeachment inquiry into President Joe Biden, over his son Hunter Biden’s business dealings, lumbering along as lawmakers work to dig up information, the Republicans are sharpening their focus on the border crossings and the probe of Mayorkas.
Speaker Mike Johnson, who leads a majority that prefers conducting oversight and investigations over pursuing bipartisan legislating to resolve concerns, gave nod to the proceedings and called Mayorkas the “leading perpetrator” of the border problems, saying at a press conference, “Congress is now going to have to take the next step and hold him accountable.”
Green’s committee conducted a multi-part investigation into Mayorkas and the department but kicked the process into high gear when hard-right Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene pushed forward the impeachment resolution.
It remains to be seen if the House investigation will convince lawmakers that Mayorkas’ conduct rises to the level of the “high crimes and misdemeanors” the Constitution specifies for impeachment.
The Homeland Security Department released a memo noting that Mayorkas and the bipartisan senators are working hard to find “real solutions” to fix broken immigration laws while the House majority is wasting time on “baseless and pointless political attacks” by trying to impeach him.
Sen. James Lankford, the chief GOP negotiator of the border package, who has been in almost daily negotiations involving Mayorkas, said he understands his colleagues’ frustrations. But he encouraged them to focus as he has on legislation to force Biden’s hand.
Lankford briefed House and Senate GOP lawmakers privately Wednesday on the border talks, which hit a setback.
Senators struggled with certain differences, particularly over parole programs to allow immigrants who claim asylum entry into the U.S. as they await court proceedings.
Reaching a border deal is key to a broader funding package for Ukraine, Israel and other national security needs.