GOP lawmakers in the House of Representatives are set to vote Tuesday to impeach Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, a high-ranking source told Fox News. Republican Georgia Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene introduced Thursday's resolution requiring a yes or no vote.
Unlike with other measures that get tabled or delayed, the source believes there will be no escaping a vote on Mayorkas's future. If this is the case, Mayoraks could be impeached without the usual drawn-out protocol.
This is significant as just last week, the House refused to vote on whether to kick New York GOP Rep. George Santos out because of lack of "due process." Santos has been accused of stealing, lying to his colleagues, and making up parts of his backstory, the Associated Press reported.
However, the newly-minted Speaker of the House Mike Johnson wanted Santos to have his infractions litigated in the courts rather than punished in Congress. The measure to expel Santos didn't get enough votes in part because it would require Republicans to go against their new leader.
Santos was grateful for this reprieve on justice. “I feel like due process is still alive. I feel like there’s enough colleagues on both sides of the aisle here who understand that," he said following the vote.
Still, Mayorkas might not get that consideration if the vote indeed goes through Tuesday. There's still a chance it won't, but that presents a new problem as Republicans who have been promising he would be impeached will lose face.
His impeachment has been a long time in the making, as Mayorkas has failed to stop the influx of illegal immigration, The Hill reported. He admitted as much during a hearing last year when Texas GOP Rep. Chip Roy asked Mayorkas point blank whether he had control of the border.
Shockingly, he admitted he did not. "And congressman, I think the secretary of Homeland Security would have said the same thing in 2020 and in 2019," Mayorkas claimed.
After the Republicans retook the House of Representatives, GOP lawmakers were falling all over themselves to be the first to oust Mayorkas. Then the momentum shifted to impeaching President Joe Biden, and Mayorkas was all but forgotten until Greene's action Thursday.
The Georgia Republican accused Mayorkas of failing to stop the "invasion" and also violating the 2006 Secure Fence Act. "Alejandro Nicholas Mayorkas, in his inability to enforce the law, has engaged in a pattern of conduct that is incompatible with his duties as a civil officer of the United States," Greene asserted in her resolution.
For his part, Mayorkas believes that he has broken no such law. He believes that the act is so sweeping nobody could live up to its standard, including a Republican administration.
"The Secure Fence Act, specifically the statute, defines operational control as not having one individual cross the border illegally," Mayorkas claimed. "Under that statutory definition, no administration has achieved operational control," he told lawmakers in July.
It's true that Mayorkas has overseen record illegal immigration while not doing much of anything to stop it. He has failed in what should be the most basic task in his job.
However, it's questionable whether Republicans will actually go through with their action against Mayorkas. They're great at making promises, but they seldom keep them when it comes time to follow through.
