House panel to vote on Mayorkas impeachment resolution on January 31
Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas holds a news conference at a US Border Patrol station on January 8 in Eagle Pass
By Manu Raju and Haley Talbot, CNN
Washington (CNN) — The House Homeland Security Committee plans to vote on January 31 on an impeachment resolution of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, moving closer to making him just the second Cabinet secretary in history to be charged with a high crime and misdemeanor.
A source familiar with the matter told CNN the plan is to have the committee vote on January 31, teeing up floor action as early as February. The panel is holding its second and final Mayorkas impeachment hearing Thursday.
House GOP leaders have been growing confident that they will have the votes to swiftly impeach Mayorkas over the migration problems at the border now that a number of swing-district Republicans have signaled their support and as the immigration issue remains front-and-center in the 2024 campaign, as CNN has previously reported.
But with a razor-thin majority, it’s still uncertain how a floor vote will pan out as Democrats call the unprecedented move reckless and blame Congress for the failure to fix immigration laws.
Mia Ehrenberg, a DHS spokesperson, on Thursday accused House Republicans of “wasting time” by pursuing impeachment and called the effort a “harmful distraction from our critical national security priorities.”
At a hearing last week, Republicans lambasted Mayorkas over what they claim is a dereliction of duty as border crossings have reached record highs, while Democrats argued that the impeachment proceedings are politically motivated and meritless.
The House GOP majority has ramped up its scrutiny of the Biden administration on multiple fronts. House Republicans continue to pursue an impeachment inquiry into President Joe Biden and are taking steps toward holding the president’s son Hunter Biden in contempt of Congress. But with the Biden probe moving methodically and a number of Republicans still skeptical about impeaching the president, senior Republicans believe targeting Mayorkas will be an easier lift as the border crisis becomes a defining campaign issue.
If the Homeland Security secretary is impeached, it would be an exceedingly rare event. Only one Cabinet official has ever been impeached in American history: Secretary of War William Belknap in 1876.
This story has been updated with additional reaction.
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