Mayorkas Faces Impeachment: Political Move Or Justified?

President Biden’s Secretary of Homeland Security could be a step closer to impeachment by late Tuesday evening, as the Republican-led House Homeland Security Committee prepares to vote to refer articles of impeachment against Alejandro Mayorkas to the full House of Representatives.

Democrats say the effort to impeach Secretary Mayorkas is 100 percent politically motivated, not to mention an improper use of Congress’s rarely used impeachment authority. But Republicans say it is proper, and Mayorkas’s handling of the border left them no other choice. "The failure to secure the border has been so significant, so catastrophic, so egregious," said Texas committee member Rep. Austin Pfluger (R-TX) in remarks during Tuesday’s markup proceeding, "that Congress must now use its power to provide accountability."

And holding Mayorkas accountable, Republicans say, is what the Constitution requires they do and why they drafted two articles of impeachment against him  Article I charges Mayorkas with "Willful and Systemic Refusal to Comply with the Law"; Article II with "Breach of Public Trust."

"When we pass laws and we have bureaucracies that don't follow it,” said Rep, Josh Brecheen (R-OK2) at the hearing, “what are we up here for? What are we up here for?!"

In a letter to the committee, Secretary Mayorkas called the allegations false and said he is enforcing the law.

Democrats on the committee say this is a disagreement over policy and the discretion Mayorkas has used, which is not an impeachable offense. "The Constitution is very clear," said Rep. Seth Magaziner (D-RI) in an interview, "that you cannot impeach someone because you think they're doing a bad job."

But some Mayorkas critics say, more than just a ‘bad job’, there's an ulterior motive to letting hundreds of thousands of migrants enter the country illegally. "Why else would you allow this,” said Brecheen, “if it wasn’t for the purpose of hoping they turn into voters to support you and keep you in power?"

Congressman Brecheen has no proof of this motive, but he and the other Republicans on the committee say the unprecedented number of apprehensions at the border is clear proof that Mayorkas is flouting the laws Congress made. "And this only is allowed to continue when Congress refuses to act,” said Brecheen. “If the house refuses to act, we are derelict in our duty.”

If the committee approves the articles, it’s possible the full House could vote on the impeachment resolution as soon as next week.