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Post by Webster on Jan 3, 2024 16:05:21 GMT -5
 (The Guardian) House committee to start impeachment proceedings against Mayorkas next weekA Republican-controlled House committee will next week begin impeachment proceedings against Alejandro Mayorkas, the homeland security secretary who the GOP blames for the surge in migrants crossing the southern border. Republican homeland security committee chair Mark Green of Tennessee said in a statement the hearing would take place on Wednesday. In November, the House voted to refer articles of impeachment against Mayorkas to the committee, which is investigating whether the secretary was derelict in his duties. “For almost three years, the American people have demanded an end to the unprecedented crisis at the Southwest border, and they have also rightly called for Congress to hold accountable those responsible,” Green said. “That’s why the House Committee on Homeland Security led a comprehensive investigation into the causes, costs, and consequences of this crisis. Our investigation made clear that this crisis finds its foundation in Secretary Mayorkas’ decision-making and refusal to enforce the laws passed by Congress, and that his failure to fulfill his oath of office demands accountability.” Impeachments of cabinet secretaries are rare, and it is almost certain the Democratic-led Senate would reject convicting Mayorkas and removing him from office. House Republicans are also pursuing impeachment articles against Joe Biden over alleged corruption, though they have yet to publicize proof of their allegations. |
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Post by Webster on Jan 3, 2024 16:06:47 GMT -5
(The Guardian) Mayorkas says he 'most certainly will' cooperate with impeachment proceedingsIn an interview today with MSNBC, homeland security secretary Alejandro Mayorkas said he would cooperate with the impeachment proceedings House Republicans will begin next week against him. “I most certainly will, and I’m going to continue to do my work, as well,” Mayorkas said. The secretary noted he had recently met with the Democratic and Republican senators who are trying to reach an agreement to change immigration policy in response to the increase in asylum seekers arriving from Mexico. “I was on the Hill yesterday to provide technical advice in those ongoing negotiations. Before I headed to the Hill, I was in the office working on solutions. After my visit to the Hill, I was back in my office, working on solutions. That’s what we do in the Department of Homeland Security. That’s what this administration is focused on – solutions to problems,” Mayorkas said. It’s unclear if the secretary will appear before the committee considering whether to impeach him, but he has frequently answered questions for House and Senate panels since taking the job in February 2021.
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Post by Webster on Jan 3, 2024 16:43:00 GMT -5
(The Guardian) In November, a resolution to impeach Alejandro Mayorkas was blocked, and referred to the committee, when eight Republicans sided with Democrats against a measure introduced by Marjorie Taylor Greene. Conditions at the border with Mexico have worsened and Biden officials acknowledge a backlog of 3m asylum cases. Seeking draconian reforms, Republicans have made the issue central to talks over federal government funding and aid to Ukraine. On Wednesday, the House Republican spokesperson told CNN impeachment would “ensure that the public is aware of the scope of Secretary Mayorkas’s egregious misconduct and refusal to enforce the law”. In return, a Department of Homeland Security spokesperson accused Republicans of “wasting valuable time and taxpayer dollars pursuing a baseless political exercise that has been rejected by members of both parties and already failed on a bipartisan vote. “There is no valid basis to impeach Secretary Mayorkas, as senior members of the House majority have attested, and this extreme impeachment push is a harmful distraction from our critical national security priorities.”
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