US Politics

House Republicans to start impeachment proceedings against Mayorkas

Author: Editors Desk Source: USA Today
January 3, 2024 at 10:17
Mayorkas is currently involved in the Senate border talks and is advising negotiators on policy changes.


Alejandro Mayorkas speaks on national security threats
Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas spoke during a congressional hearing focused on national terror threats.
 

WASHINGTON – House Republicans are proceeding with impeachment proceedings against Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas in a massive escalation of their attack on Democrats over the migrant crisis at the southern border. 

The proceedings will begin Jan. 10, with the House Homeland Security Committee holding a first impeachment hearing, a committee spokesperson told USA TODAY. Punchbowl News first reported the hearing. 

The move comes as more than 60 House Republicans and Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., are in Eagle Pass, Texas, to tour the border and hold a press conference on the migrant crisis. 

On the other side of the Capitol, bipartisan talks on a border and immigration deal continue to progress slowly as lawmakers in the Senate seek to tie changes in border policy to foreign aid.

“There is no valid basis to impeach Secretary Mayorkas, as senior members of the House majority have attested, and this extreme impeachment push is a harmful distraction from our critical national security priorities,” Mia Ehrenberg, a spokesperson for the Department of Homeland Security, said in a statement. 

Mayorkas is currently involved in the Senate border talks and is advising negotiators on policy changes.

The Department of Homeland Security needs additional resources "now," Mayorkas said Wednesday morning on CNN.

Mayorkas has pushed for President Joe Biden's proposed supplemental package that included foreign aid along with changes in border policy, adding he hopes the impeachment proceedings do not hinder the ongoing delicate negotiations.

House Republicans have long clamored to impeach Mayorkas, blaming him for the crisis at the southern border. Conservative firebrand Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., attempted to force an impeachment vote on Mayorkas last year but a handful of GOP lawmakers blocked her bid, referring it to the Homeland Security Committee that was already investigating Mayorkas. 

Greene was poised to force a second vote, but dropped it after saying she received reassurances from Johnson and House Homeland Security Committee Chair Mark Green, R-Tenn., that House Republicans would vote on impeaching Mayorkas in the future.
 

Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas speaks with reporters during a news conference at the Department of Justice on Dec. 6, 2023, in Washington, as Attorney General Merrick Garland looks on.
Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas speaks with reporters during a news conference at the Department of Justice on Dec. 6, 2023, in Washington, as Attorney General Merrick Garland looks on. Mark Schiefelbein, AP
Advertisement
You did not use the site, Click here to remain logged. Timeout: 60 second