House Impeaches Mayorkas In Historic Vote

Mayorkas is the first cabinet official to be impeached since the 1870s.

Exactly a week after a failed attempt, the House has impeached Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, under whose tenure more than 10 million illegal immigrants have entered the US – doubling the existing population of migrants.

With a vote of 214-213, Mayorkas is the first cabinet official to be impeached since the 1870s.

Last week’s effort to impeach Mayorkas failed by one vote because three Republicans voted with all the Democrats against the move. The vote was made possible only by the return of House Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-La.), who missed last week’s vote while undergoing treatment for blood cancer, according to The Hill.

Mayorkas was accused of demonstrating a “willful and systemic refusal to comply with the law,” and “breaching the public trust,” which Democrats suggested was nothing more than disagreements over policy or performance failings, but not impeachable crimes.

“Secretary Mayorkas is a danger to every American,” said Rep. Dan Bishop (R-NC) on X. “I’m voting to impeach him.”

The GOP leaders moved to hold the vote before their majority potentially shrinks even further, with a closely watched special election Tuesday in New York to replace expelled Republican Rep. George Santos. The race is considered a tossup.

Republicans continued the impeachment effort after rejecting an effort in the Senate to craft a bipartisan border deal to address many of the same issues House conservatives are raising. House Speaker Mike Johnson (R., La.) called the Senate’s deal—which paired aid for Ukraine with changes to border policy—dead on arrival, eventually leading most Republicans in the House and Senate to criticize the bill as insufficient. On Tuesday morning, the Senate passed a $95.3 billion package for Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan that excluded border-policy changes. –WSJ

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