Republican Majority in US House Passes Impeachment Resolution Against Homeland Security Secretary

Responsibility for Failure of Southern Border Control
Final Impeachment Decision Remains Uncertain

The Republican-majority U.S. House of Representatives on the 13th (local time) passed an impeachment resolution against Alejandro Mayorkas, Secretary of Homeland Security, after two attempts.

[Image source=AFP Yonhap News]

According to the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) and others, the House voted 214 in favor and 213 against to pass the impeachment resolution against Secretary Mayorkas on that day.

The Republicans have pushed for impeachment, blaming Secretary Mayorkas for the failure of border control, citing a record surge in illegal entries at the southern border in recent years. Meanwhile, the Democrats argued that this attempt does not meet the impeachment criteria of "high crimes and misdemeanors" and is illegal.

In the vote that day, it was confirmed that all Republican members except Ken Buck, Tom McClintock, and Mike Gallagher voted in favor of impeachment. Two Democratic members and two Republican members did not vote.

Earlier, the House also held an impeachment vote against Secretary Mayorkas last week, but it was rejected. WSJ reported that Steve Scalise, House Majority Leader, who was absent last week due to cancer treatment, cast a vote in favor this time, bolstering the Republicans' impeachment effort.

Accordingly, the final decision on Secretary Mayorkas's impeachment will be made in the Senate. Unlike the House, the Senate is majority-held by the ruling Democratic Party, so the final impeachment outcome is uncertain. It is unusual to pursue impeachment against a sitting cabinet secretary.

President Joe Biden criticized the vote immediately afterward in a statement, saying, "History will not look kindly on the blatant partisanship of House Republican members," and added, "They targeted an honorable public official for petty political games."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.