As the nation’s southern border further resembles a sieve, restive House Republicans want to strike back by impeaching Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas.
Several House Judiciary Committee members are champing at the bit.
“He should be impeached as soon as humanly possible,” Republican Rep. Chip Roy of Texas told reporters Tuesday, according to Breitbart.
Republican Rep. Ben Cline of Virginia seconded that notion.
“I support beginning impeachment hearings. I’ve said that to Chairman Jordan,” Cline said, referring to Ohio Rep. Jim Jordan, chairman of the House Judiciary Committee. “My constituents think it’s long overdue, and I feel as though once we lay out the facts for the American people and for my colleagues in the House, it’ll be inevitable.”
Impeaching Mayorkas has been discussed among Republicans since February. Issues holding back hearings on the matter include the fact that while Democrats control the Senate, acquittal on the charges there is a foregone conclusion. Knowing impeachment will fall short of removing Mayorkas from office, some House Republicans have not supported the process.
But the world changed last week as the Biden administration finally achieved its goal of ending Title 42, a Trump-era bit of pandemic health rulemaking used to expel illegal immigrants at the border.
Now, thousands of migrants a day are crossing into the U.S., overwhelming border security that is in place.
That has given new life to efforts to remove Mayorkas.
Republican Rep. Andy Biggs of Arizona, who proposed impeaching Mayorkas as far back as 2021, is “full steam ahead,” his spokesman said Tuesday.
This is an outright invasion.
Mayorkas has got to go. https://t.co/5uYHXVA3fI
— Rep Andy Biggs (@RepAndyBiggsAZ) May 14, 2023
Breitbart reported that based on what it called a person familiar with the matter, Jordan is trying to find the right strategy to pursue impeachment.
House Speaker Kevin McCarthy of California has called for Mayorkas to step down but has been less direct on the subject of impeachment.
On Monday, Republican Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia met with McCarthy to push for impeachment, according to CNN.
“There’s a lot of renewed interest,” Greene said.
The last Cabinet secretary to be impeached was William Belknap, secretary of war in the Ulysses Grant administration, who was impeached by the House but acquitted by the Senate in 1876.
“I know people are very frustrated with [Mayorkas],” McCarthy said, indicating he wants to avoid the appearance of impeachment “for political reasons.”
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Republican Rep. Don Bacon of Nebraska termed an impeachment effort “a lot of tires in the mud” and said the focus should be on the person giving the orders, not the one executing them.
“In the end, President Biden owns this and is responsible and I hope the voters hold him accountable in November,” he said.
On Sunday, Mayorkas seemed to dismiss talk of impeachment.
“I am focused on the work in front of us, meeting the challenge not only with respect to the southern border but meeting the challenge of cyber, the cyber threat from cyber criminals and adverse foreign nations states,” he said in an interview on CNN’s “State of the Union.”
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“I am focused on the increasing severity and frequency of extreme weather events. I am focused on the adverse actions of the People’s Republic of China, North Korea, Iran, Russia.
“I am focused on the work of the Department of Homeland Security. I will continue to focus on that work throughout my tenure.”
This article appeared originally on The Western Journal.