Republicans Vote To Impeach US Security Chief

Republicans Vote To Impeach US Security Chief

Republican members of the United States House of Representatives made the decision on Tuesday night to impeach Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas….READ ALSO

The legislators asserted that Mayorkas bore responsibility for a historic surge of unauthorized migrants crossing the US-Mexico border in the previous year.

Voice of America reported that the vote resulted in a 214-213 tally in favor of impeachment, although three Republicans sided with the Democrats opposing it.

According to the report, conservative Republicans with hard-line stances had been targeting Mayorkas for several months but fell short by a single vote in the prior week’s attempt to impeach him, when three House Republicans dissented from the effort.

It was noted that House party leaders failed to anticipate that one Democratic lawmaker, who opposed the impeachment, would attend the vote despite being hospitalized awaiting surgery.

Tuesday’s vote was again tight but ended with the impeachment of the 64-year-old Cabinet member, with the return of Republican Majority Leader Steve Scalise, who missed the previous week’s vote due to cancer treatment.

Mayorkas now joins Secretary of War William Belknap, impeached in 1876, as only the second Cabinet member in US history to face impeachment.

While the impeachment of Mayorkas is largely symbolic, it could be viewed as a victory for his Republican critics, who aim to criticize Democratic President Joe Biden and Democratic lawmakers as the November elections approach, regarding the turmoil at the US Southern border. According to VOA, a record 10,000 migrants per day were apprehended at the border in December.

The Democratic-controlled Senate, with a narrow 51-49 majority, is expected to acquit Mayorkas. A conviction requires a two-thirds majority vote, meaning at least 18 Democrats would need to vote for conviction if all Republicans do as well.

Now that the House has impeached Mayorkas, the Senate will be compelled to open a trial at least. However, it could choose to dismiss the articles, dissolve the trial, or refer the articles of impeachment to a committee.