The House Committee on Homeland Security voted 18-15 to approve sending two articles of impeachment against Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas early Wednesday morning following hours of hearings on the matter. The articles will now go to the House of Representatives floor for another vote.
The articles allege that Mayorkas failed to comply with US law and breached public trust in his handling of the US-Mexico border and immigration matters.
In response to the vote, Committee Chairman Mark Green stated:
I am proud of the Committee for advancing these historic articles. I urge my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to do the right thing, put aside the politics, and agree that before we can fix Secretary Mayorkas’ mess, Congress must finally hold this man accountable.
Prior to the vote, Secretary Mayorkas sent a letter to Chairman Green, stating that “your false accusations do not rattle me and do not divert me from the law enforcement and broader public service mission to which I have devoted most of my career and to which I remain devoted.”
Article I of the Constitution states that the House of Representatives holds the sole power of impeachment, and after articles of impeachment are brought against an official, the House can adopt the articles by a majority vote. If the articles pass the House, they are sent to the Senate for an impeachment trial to determine the official’s guilt.
This impeachment vote comes at a tense time at the US-Mexico border. Texas Governor Greg Abbott released a statement asserting Texas’ constitutional right to self-defense in response to ongoing border tensions following a Supreme Court ruling on January 22 that sided with the Biden administration in a dispute over a southern border barrier.