WASHINGTON (NewsNation) — House Republicans have impeached Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas.
Mayorkas is the first Cabinet official to be impeached since the 1870s, a vote made all the more remarkable by Republicans’ inability to pass the same articles of impeachment last week, when three GOP members joined Democrats to tank the resolution, citing concerns their colleagues were abusing their impeachment power.
The articles are not expected to move in the Democrat-led Senate.
The vote was made possible by House Majority Leader Steve Scalise, who returned to Washington, D.C., for the evening vote after receiving cancer treatment and sitting out the vote last week.
President Joe Biden responded after the vote that “History will not look kindly on House Republicans for their blatant act of unconstitutional partisanship.”
The outcome of Tuesday’s special election in New York to replace ousted Republican Rep. George Santos could tip the balance further. NewsNation obtained a memo released Tuesday by DHS that calls on lawmakers to “stop the stunt.”
“House Republicans’ baseless push to impeach Secretary Mayorkas has already failed once, with bipartisan opposition. If members of Congress care about our national security, they should listen to their fellow Republicans and stop wasting time on this pointless, unconstitutional impeachment,” the memo read.
Last week’s stunning blow to GOP House members came after a small group of Republicans — Colorado Rep. Ken Buck, Wisconsin Rep. Mike Gallagher and California Rep. Tom McClintock — joined all Democrats in voting against the resolution. Gallagher has since announced he will not seek re-election.
“The Constitution hasn’t changed since last week. So my vote is not going to change,” said Rep. McClintock on the Hill when asked how he’ll vote on Tuesday. “It dumbs down the standard for impeachment. It assures it’s going to become a constant fixture in our national life whenever the White House is held by one party and in the Congress by the other.”
When asked on “The Hill” if McClintock would also leave government, he said, “Winston Churchill was asked that question and his response was, ‘I fight for my corner, and I leave when the pub closes.’”
House Republicans allege Mayorkas breached trust and deliberately refused to comply with the law while managing the border crisis.
Rep. Matt Rosendale, R-Mont., posted on X about the vote, writing, “Alejandro Mayorkas has undoubtedly FAILED to protect and defend our nation. Every day he remains in power, our national security is at risk. He has lied, defamed, and abandoned his duty as Secretary of Homeland Security. He must impeached!”
Mayorkas continues to rebut those claims.
“They’re baseless allegations … and that’s why I really am not distracted by them and focused on the work of the Department of Homeland Security,” he said.
Mayorkas also urged Congress to pass legislation to address the border crisis.
White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre on Tuesday said House Republicans need to do “serious work” the American people care about.
The impeachment of Mayorkas, Jean-Pierre said, “is not it.”
“They should drop this,” she said.
Customs and Border Protection sources told NewsNation the U.S. has now surpassed one million migrant encounters at the southern border so far this fiscal year that began in October, marking an almost 10% increase compared to the same period last year.
The impeachment marks a rare move. A Cabinet secretary has not faced impeachment charges since 1876. Secretary of War William Belknap resigned just before the vote.
The Associated Press and Alex Arbaiza contributed to this report.