On CNN's "At This Hour" on Friday, network anchor Chris Wallace previewed a clip from his show "Who's Talking to Chris Wallace?" in which Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas claimed Republicans were calling for his impeachment for political reasons.
WALLACE: How seriously do you take the calls for your impeachment?
MAYORKAS: Oh, I take them seriously. It is the leadership of the House that provided those remarks. I don’t dismiss it by any measure, but what I do is I focus on my work.
WALLACE: What do you think is the basis for their calling for your impeachment? Do you think you’ve done anything wrong?
MAYORKAS: No, I don’t. I think it is a disagreement over policy. I think it is used for political purposes to continue a negative dialogue about a migration challenge that is not unique to the United States, to continue that dialogue to uplift it for political reasons.
WALLACE: So, Mr. Secretary, have you come to a conclusion if these House committees request you or subpoena you as part of either an investigation or an impeachment proceeding, have you decided whether or not you will appear before those committees?
MAYORKAS: I intend to appear when Congress calls me to do so.
In the United States, the process for impeaching a Homeland Security Secretary would involve the following steps, and is infrequent.
The impeachment process would be initiated by the U.S. House of Representatives, which would need to pass articles of impeachment against the Secretary of Homeland Security.
The articles of impeachment would outline the specific charges against the Secretary.
Once the articles of impeachment are passed by the House of Representatives, the case would then be sent to the U.S. Senate, which would act as the court for the impeachment trial.
The Senate would then conduct a trial to determine whether the charges in the articles of impeachment are valid.
During the trial, the Homeland Security Secretary would have the opportunity to present a defense, and the House of Representatives would serve as the prosecution.
The Senate would then vote on whether to convict the Secretary on each article of impeachment.
If the Senate votes to convict the Secretary on any of the articles of impeachment, he or she would be removed from office immediately.
It is important to note that impeachment is a complex and rare process, and it requires substantial evidence of "high crimes and misdemeanors" on the part of the Homeland Security Secretary.
The process is intended to serve as a check on abuses of power and serious misconduct by government officials and is not to be used for political or personal reasons.
