Biden says ‘history will not look kindly’ on House Republicans who voted to impeach DHS chief Alejandro Mayorkas
President Biden on Tuesday slammed the 214 House Republicans who voted in favor of impeaching Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, arguing that “history will not look kindly” on them.
Biden, 81, touted Mayorkas’ “integrity“ and his “decorated” career in law enforcement and public service, calling the two articles of impeachment filed against the 64-year-old DHS chief “baseless,” in a statement released by the White House.
“History will not look kindly on House Republicans for their blatant act of unconstitutional partisanship that has targeted an honorable public servant in order to play petty political games,” the president said.
“From his time in the Justice Department as a U.S. Attorney to his service as Deputy Secretary and now Secretary of Homeland Security, he has upheld the rule of law faithfully and has demonstrated a deep commitment to the values that make our nation great,” Biden continued.
The president argued that GOP lawmakers backing Mayorkas’ impeachment would be better served passing legislation that would give his administration “the tools and resources needed to address the situation at the border.”
“This impeachment already failed once on a bipartisan vote. Instead of staging political stunts like this, Republicans with genuine concerns about the border should want Congress to deliver more border resources and stronger border security,” Biden said. “Sadly, the same Republicans pushing this baseless impeachment are rejecting bipartisan plans Secretary Mayorkas and others in my administration have worked hard on to strengthen border security at this very moment — reversing from years of their own demands to pass stronger border bills.”
“Giving up on real solutions right when they are needed most in order to play politics is not what the American people expect from their leaders.”
House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) has argued that Republicans in the House have already done their part, by passing legislation last May tackling border security that wasn’t taken up by the Democrat-controlled Senate.
He and other top Republicans on Capitol Hill rejected a bipartisan Senate bill linking border security to aid for Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan last week over concerns that it didn’t go far enough to address the border crisis.
In his own statement, Johnson accused Mayorkas of “willfully and consistently” refusing to comply with US immigration laws making “multiple false statements to Congress.”
“For nearly a year, the House Homeland Security Committee has taken a careful and methodical approach to this investigation and the results are clear: from his first day in office, Secretary Mayorkas has willfully and consistently refused to comply with federal immigration laws, fueling the worst border catastrophe in American history,” the House speaker said. “He has undermined public trust through multiple false statements to Congress, obstructed lawful oversight of the Department of Homeland Security, and violated his oath of office.”
“Alejandro Mayorkas deserves to be impeached, and Congress has a constitutional obligation to do so,” Johnson added. “Next to a declaration of war, impeachment is arguably the most serious authority given to the House and we have treated this matter accordingly. Since this secretary refuses to do the job that the Senate confirmed him to do, the House must act.”
Echoing Biden, DHS spokesperson Mia Ehrenberg said in a statement that “House Republicans will be remembered by history for trampling on the Constitution for political gain rather than working to solve the serious challenges at our border.”
“While Secretary Mayorkas was helping a group of Republican and Democratic Senators develop bipartisan solutions to strengthen border security and get needed resources for enforcement, House Republicans have wasted months with this baseless, unconstitutional impeachment,” Ehrenberg said, arguing that there isn’t “a shred of evidence or legitimate Constitutional grounds” to impeach Mayorkas.
“Secretary Mayorkas and the Department of Homeland Security will continue working every day to keep Americans safe.”
