In a renewed effort to hold Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas accountable for the surge in migrants, House Republicans are set to vote on impeachment again, following a previous unsuccessful attempt.
By yourNEWS Media Staff
WASHINGTON – The Republican-led U.S. House of Representatives is poised for another vote on Tuesday to impeach President Joe Biden’s chief border official, Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, after a previous bid failed, marking a setback for Republican Speaker Mike Johnson. This move underscores the GOP’s determination to address what they see as critical border security failures under Mayorkas’ watch, a stance echoed by former President Donald Trump as a key element of his campaign strategy against Biden in the upcoming November presidential election.
Mayorkas has consistently refuted claims that he is to blame for the influx of migrants at the U.S.-Mexico border, attributing the crisis instead to a fundamentally flawed immigration system that Congress has yet to rectify. In response to the impeachment efforts, his department issued a statement on Tuesday, condemning the Republican-led initiative as a futile and unconstitutional “stunt” that detracts from meaningful efforts to reform border policies.
Despite these objections, House Republicans, led by voices like Representative Byron Donalds, remain undeterred. Donalds expressed confidence on the social media platform “X,” stating, “We will have our full membership back. We will vote on Mayorkas impeachment. It will pass the House.” Yet, given the House’s slim Republican majority of 219-212, the outcome of the vote is far from certain. The GOP’s initial attempt to impeach Mayorkas faltered last week with a 214-216 vote, after internal dissent and strategic voting by one member to allow for a future reconsideration of the measure.
Optimism among House Republican leaders for a successful vote has been buoyed by the return of House Majority Leader Steve Scalise, who was absent last week due to cancer treatments. However, the effort faces potential obstacles from an approaching winter storm that could impede attendance, as well as the possible complication of Democrat Tom Suozzi joining Congress following a special election in New York, which could offset Scalise’s presence.
If the House does pass the impeachment resolution, it will then be forwarded to the Democrat-controlled Senate, where it is expected to encounter significant resistance.
This latest impeachment effort follows closely on the heels of the Senate’s rejection of a bipartisan border security bill, a development that maintains the prominence of immigration issues in Trump’s campaign narrative. Trump himself experienced impeachment twice during his tenure, with the House indicting him on separate occasions while under Democratic control, though he was acquitted by the Senate each time.
Currently, House Republicans are also probing into whether any actions by Biden prior to his presidency could warrant impeachment. However, some within the party have yet to be convinced of any impeachable offenses.