House Republicans are expected to hold a second vote to impeach Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas on Tuesday, after an initial effort seeking to do so failed last week. He is the first Cabinet secretary to face charges in nearly 150 years.
House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-Louisiana, has signaled he intends to bring the two articles of impeachment against Mayorkas before the House floor as early as Tuesday evening. These articles were initially filed by the House Homeland Security Committee.
Their passage is far from certain, however, as the GOP holds only a narrow majority in the chamber. While Majority Leader Steve Scalise has returned to the chamber after being away from Washington for cancer care, even one other missing or weather-delayed lawmaker could prevent Republicans from impeaching Mayorkas for a second time.
The chamber’s Democratic members staunchly oppose the impeachment effort.
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Republicans are seeking to impeach Mayorkas over failing to secure the U.S.-Mexico border and for repeatedly telling Congress that the Biden administration maintained operational control despite historic levels of migrant encounters and crossings.
The specific article charges Mayorkas with having “refused to comply with Federal immigration laws” and the other of having violated “public trust.”
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Last week, three Republicans opposed the impeachment vote in the final tally. Democrats remained united, and the vote failed 216-214.
One Democrat, Rep. Al Green of Texas, who had been hospitalized for emergency abdominal surgery, made a surprise arrival and wheeled into the chamber in scrubs and socks to vote against it.
Johnson could push the vote later into the week, should he wish to wait for the outcome of Tuesday’s special election in New York to replace ousted Rep. George Santos from New York’s 3rd Congressional District — which could send another Republican to Washington.
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Mazi Pilip, an Ethiopian-Israeli immigrant and a former Israel Defense Forces soldier, is seeking to keep the seat red as she fends off a challenge from her Democratic opponent, former Rep. Tom Suozzi, who served in Congress from 2017 to 2023.
The effort comes as border security remains one of the most important issues for voters around the country.
Republicans, including presidential front-runner former President Trump, have made the issue a focus of their re-election campaigns in November, when the GOP is looking to keep its majority in the House of Representatives, as well as win back the White House and the U.S. Senate.
Trump has vowed to launch “the largest domestic deportation operation in American history” on day one if he retakes the White House.
“We have no choice,” Trump said at a rally in South Carolina.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
