US House Passes Resolution to Impeach Mayorkas for Failing to Secure Border

WASHINGTON (Sputnik) - The US House of Representatives passed a resolution to impeach Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas for his alleged failure to secure the United States’ borders from illegal immigration, making him the second sitting Cabinet secretary ever to be impeached.

House lawmakers passed the resolution to bring articles of impeachment against Mayorkas in a vote of 214-213 on Tuesday, after the effort failed in a vote last week.

The resolution accuses Mayorkas of willful and systemic refusal to comply with and enforce immigration laws.

"If Secretary Mayorkas truly wished to do his duty by the American people, he would start enforcing our laws and demand the Biden Administration take the actions House Republicans have clearly laid out to secure the border in HR 2. As it stands, Secretary Mayorkas has demonstrated no intention to begin complying with our laws and defending our communities," House Majority Leader Steve Scalise said in a statement on the resolution.

US President Joe Biden said in a statement that the impeachment of Mayorkas is a "baseless" and "blatant act" of unconstitutional partisanship.

"History will not look kindly on House Republicans for their blatant act of unconstitutional partisanship that has targeted an honorable public servant in order to play petty political games," Biden said on Tuesday. "Sadly, the same Republicans pushing this baseless impeachment are rejecting bipartisan plans Secretary Mayorkas and others in my administration have worked hard on to strengthen border security at this very moment — reversing from years of their own demands to pass stronger border bills. "

US House Speaker Mike Johnson in a statement said the Homeland Security Secretary deserved to be impeached by the House for refusing to do his job.

"Alejandro Mayorkas deserves to be impeached, and Congress has a constitutional obligation to do so. Next to a declaration of war, impeachment is arguably the most serious authority given to the House and we have treated this matter accordingly," Johnson said on Tuesday after the vote. "Since this Secretary refuses to do the job that the Senate confirmed him to do, the House must act.”

Last week, the effort failed to pass the US House of Representatives, in part because Scalise was absent from the vote, due to receiving treatment for blood cancer. The measure now heads to the Democrat-majority Senate, which will hold an impeachment trial against Mayorkas.