Republicans on the House Homeland Security Committee pushed forward two articles of impeachment against Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas early Wednesday morning, setting up a full House vote on the matter.
The GOP has called for Mayorkas’s impeachment for months, alleging he has neglected his duty to secure the southern border, but impeaching the head of the Department of Homeland Security is a contested endeavor amid the crisis on the southern border. Most House Republicans have been vocally in support of the move, but others have expressed doubts about impeaching Mayorkas.
One question that lingers over the House GOP push is: Could it backfire?
House Homeland Security Committee Chairman Mark Green (R-TN) argued that Mayorkas has “willfully and systemically refused to comply with the laws enacted by Congress” and that by doing so, he has breached the public trust.
“As a result, thousands of Americans have lost their lives, and our nation is experiencing a historic national security, public safety, and humanitarian catastrophe,” Green said in a statement on Wednesday.
“Make no mistake, Secretary Mayorkas’ lawlessness is exactly what the Framers of our Constitution designed impeachment to remedy. The historical record makes it clear — Congress holds impeachment power to hold accountable public officials who refuse to do their duty, and to deal with grave harms to our political order,” he added.
The two articles of impeachment advanced by the committee were supported by House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA), who commended the panel for advancing the articles to the full chamber.
“Since the moment he was confirmed, Secretary Mayorkas has willfully and consistently refused to comply with federal immigration laws, fueling the worst border catastrophe in American history. 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,” Johnson said in a statement on Wednesday.
If the full House of Representatives voted to impeach him, he would be the first Cabinet member impeached since 1876 and the first Homeland Security secretary impeached since the position was created in 2003.
However, not all Republicans are on board with the impeachment push — which could spell doom for the articles in the House. Several members of the House GOP were not sold on the idea as of Tuesday, with Rep. Ken Buck (R-CO) telling Punchbowl News that he was leaning toward “no.”
The Wall Street Journal editorial board, an influential voice on the right side of the aisle, came out against impeachment on Tuesday night. The editorial board argued that impeaching Mayorkas does not achieve anything and that he has not committed any impeachment offenses — despite it saying his policy on the board has been poor.
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“Impeaching Mr. Mayorkas won’t have any effect on policy, or even on the politics of border security. Most voters don’t know who Mr. Mayorkas is. Even if the House passes the articles, on a largely partisan vote, there is no chance the Democratic Senate will convict him. Impeaching Mr. Mayorkas would be the political equivalent of a no-confidence vote. This would continue Congress’s recent trend of defining impeachment down,” the Wall Street Journal editorial board wrote on Tuesday.
Among the critics of the impeachment process are various legal scholars, according to the New York Times. With the chorus of doubters, whether the articles of impeachment can even pass the 219-213 GOP-led House of Representatives is the first test of this risky endeavor.
