GOP lawmakers have a long wish list once they take over the House in January. One of the top priorities on the list is to impeach Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas.
On Tuesday, 20 Republicans and three former DHS officials held a press conference calling on House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) to impeach DHS Secretary Mayorkas.
The rising pressure on McCarthy comes from his lack of a firm commitment to move forward with Mayorkas’ impeachment if McCarthy receives the votes he needs for the speakership in January.
Rep. Andy Biggs (R-AZ), who is leading the charge calling for the impeachment, has been loudly outspoken about his opposition to McCarthy’s speakership. Biggs’ calls for Mayorkas’ impeachment are his second attempt to shine a light on Mayorkas’ negligence and corruption.
Biggs said in a statement:
“Now that we have the majority in the House of Representatives, I expect our party to pursue impeachment next Congress. Secretary Mayorkas has committed high crimes and misdemeanors. His conduct is not incompetent. It is not negligent. It is willful and intentional.”
Mayorkas has been accused of not taking the crisis at the U.S.-Mexico border seriously, which has resulted in over one million illegal aliens entering the country with record numbers of immigrants coming into the U.S. in the past couple of weeks.
Keep up this pace and we’ll have nearly 250,000 new illegals by the end of the month.
They’re coming to your towns, terrorizing your communities and sponging off your tax dollars.
A true crisis! https://t.co/ywpAK9Np3a
— Lauren Boebert (@laurenboebert) December 13, 2022
Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-CO) voiced her concern over Mayorkas lack of care. “He regularly lies to the American people, claiming that the southern border is closed. I’ve been there. It’s wide open.”
McCarthy visited the southern border last month after his win for House GOP Speaker nomination. He has given harsh criticism of Mayorkas but in the eyes of certain Republicans, words are just words and they are demanding action.
McCarthy called on Mayorkas to resign amid his negligence to the crisis at his visit to the border but has not firmly stated that he’ll move forward with an impeachment.
Biggs, who is running as a protest challenger to McCarthy for Speaker, has suggested that McCarthy’s call for the resignation was an attempt to appease Republicans when he realized he might not have the votes for Speakership.
The road to impeachment will be a long and complicated one if GOP lawmakers can put the process in motion.
