The US House of Representatives voted on Tuesday, deciding against the impeachment of Secretary of Homeland Security, Alejandro Mayorkas. The allegations against Mayorkas included alleged non-compliance with US law and betrayal of public trust regarding his management of immigration enforcement along the US-Mexico border.
The verdict of the vote was closely contested with 214 for and 216 against the impeachment. The decision predominantly divided on party lines, with the majority of Republican representatives supporting the impeachment and the majority of Democrats against. However, four Republican representatives broke party ranks, voting against Mayorkas’ impeachment. These representatives included Ken Buck (CO), Mike Gallagher (WI), Tom McClintock (CA) and Blake Moore (UT). Moore publicly stated post-vote that his last-minute switch was for procedural reasons, allowing Republicans an opportunity to vote on Mayorkas’ impeachment in the future.
Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA), the sponsor of the bill, reacted to its defeat and the Republican nay votes by expressing her belief that these representatives will face consequences from their constituents. Mark Green (R-TN), the Chairman of the House Committee of Homeland Security, expressed his disappointment with the outcome but emphasized that the struggle to hold Secretary Mayorkas accountable is not over yet.
Notably, Secretary Mayorkas refrained from giving a personal comment on the vote. Yet, the Press Secretary for the Department of Homeland Security, Mia Ehrenberg, rebuked the impeachment, calling it baseless, and stated that it is being criticized for being unconstitutional by bipartisan opposition and legal experts.
The impeachment proceedings against Mayorkas took off in early January when the US House Homeland Security Committee convened a hearing to discuss the potential for impeachment. Numerous constitutional law professors expressed their dissent, through a letter to both Green and Speaker of the House, Mike Johnson, pointing out that Mayorkas’ impeachment based on policy decisions was in violation of the US Constitution.
This period was marked by high tension, as formal articles of impeachment were presented to the committee, provoking a response from the minority members of the committee who termed the impeachment a “sham”. This rapid turn of events led to the final decision of bringing the articles of impeachment to the House floor for a comprehensive vote. To this end, over three hours of debate was dedicated to discussing Mayorkas’ impeachment.
This vote coincides with the US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) reporting an unprecedented number of encounters along the southwest border. CBP noted a 23-percent increase, comparing the 371,036 encounters in December 2023 to 302,392 encounters in December 2022.
In conclusion, following this polarizing vote, House Speaker Johnson’s Spokesperson, Raj Shah, confirmed the Republicans’ intention to bring another impeachment motion against Mayorkas in the future.