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5:26 PM ET, February 6, 2024
Important things to know about the House vote to impeach DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas
From CNN’s Annie Grayer
The House of Representatives is expected to vote soon on whether to impeach Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, potentially allowing lawmakers to take the unprecedented step of impeaching a Cabinet member for the first time in nearly 150 years. The only cabinet member ever impeached in American history was Secretary of War William Belknap in 1876.
Here’s what’s important to know about the upcoming vote:
What Republicans are saying: House Republicans claim Mr. Mayorkas committed high crimes and misdemeanors in his response to the southern border, but several constitutional experts say the evidence does not rise to that high standard. The impeachment effort comes as House Republicans face increasing pressure from their base to hold the Biden administration accountable on the border issue, a key campaign issue.
What happens after voting: Even if Mayorkas is impeached in the House, it is highly unlikely that he will be prosecuted in the Democratic-controlled Senate. Senate Democrats are still considering how to respond if Mayorkas is impeached. The choice is to proceed with the trial, or to dismiss it quickly given the view that it is overtly political.
Mr. Mayorkas said: The department said Mayorkas is scheduled to meet with officials in Mountain View, Calif., on Tuesday to discuss cybersecurity and artificial intelligence, but sent a letter to House Republicans to defend his career in public service. “My respect for law enforcement was instilled in me by my parents, who fled the communist occupation of Cuba to give me the freedom and opportunity that our democracy offers,” Mayorkas said. He brought me to this country.” The Department of Homeland Security also slammed House Republicans over the upcoming committee vote, calling it a “travesty” and a “distraction from other important national security priorities.”
The Senate is considering border deals: House Republicans say the solution to the crisis at the southern border is to impeach Mayorkas and pressure President Joe Biden to take further executive action, while Senate Republicans say Working with my Democratic colleagues, I have announced a border agreement that: Implement long-awaited reforms to immigration law. But House Speaker Mike Johnson declared the Senate agreement “void on arrival” in the House after the document was released Sunday night.
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