At the beginning of a full-day hearing on bringing the articles described on Sunday before the whole House, Republican Representative Mark Green said, "The actions and choices of Secretary Mayorkas have left us with no other alternative except to proceed with articles of impeachment." Alejandro Mayorkas, the secretary of homeland security, refuted the accusations in a letter to House Homeland Security Committee chairman Green, despite the secretary's absence at the session, according to the Washington Post. "Your baseless charges do not frighten me or distract me from my unwavering commitment to law enforcement and public service," Mayorkas responded.
House Republicans accuse Mayorkas of betraying the public's confidence by making false claims, obstructing DHS oversight, and failing to uphold the law at the border. According to the Post, Mayorkas wrote to Green, "We have offered Congress and your Committee hours of testimony, thousands of papers, hundreds of briefings, and much more evidence that illustrates very clearly how we are implementing the law." According to the AP, Mayorkas, who has been working with the Senate on a bipartisan border agreement, suggested that the House committee collaborate with the Biden administration to address the nation's "broken and outmoded" immigration system.
Republicans will need to vote almost unanimously in favor of sending the accusations to the Senate if the panel decides to bring them before the whole House. Though there is minimal likelihood of a conviction in that chamber, the New York Times observes that the action would "create an election-year trial" where Republicans may condemn the border policy of the Biden administration. Democrats referred to the hearing on Tuesday as a farce. The leading Democrat on the committee, Rep. Bennie Thompson, called it "a dreadful day for the committee, the United States, the Constitution, and our wonderful nation."
House Republicans accuse Mayorkas of betraying the public's confidence by making false claims, obstructing DHS oversight, and failing to uphold the law at the border. According to the Post, Mayorkas wrote to Green, "We have offered Congress and your Committee hours of testimony, thousands of papers, hundreds of briefings, and much more evidence that illustrates very clearly how we are implementing the law." According to the AP, Mayorkas, who has been working with the Senate on a bipartisan border agreement, suggested that the House committee collaborate with the Biden administration to address the nation's "broken and outmoded" immigration system.
Republicans will need to vote almost unanimously in favor of sending the accusations to the Senate if the panel decides to bring them before the whole House. Though there is minimal likelihood of a conviction in that chamber, the New York Times observes that the action would "create an election-year trial" where Republicans may condemn the border policy of the Biden administration. Democrats referred to the hearing on Tuesday as a farce. The leading Democrat on the committee, Rep. Bennie Thompson, called it "a dreadful day for the committee, the United States, the Constitution, and our wonderful nation."
