House Moves to Impeach Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas in Controversial Vote

(LibertySons.org) – The House of Representatives called a second vote in the impeachment case against Homeland Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, with Republicans succeeding this time in gaining enough support against the left-leaning official. The measure is now in the hands of the Senate, which will begin impeachment proceedings later in the month.

The initial move, which took place on February 6, ended with all but three Republicans in favor of impeachment, but that wasn’t enough to take the majority. The February 13 decision took advantage of two absences from the Left, according to BBC News: Judy Chu (CA) was unable to attend due to an illness, and Lois Frankel (FL) had problems with her airplane that prevented her from traveling. Republicans also had an additional vote from House Majority Leader Steve Scalise, who had been out during the previous count to undergo cancer treatment.

Fox News reports that there were three Republican holdouts in both votes. Reps. Ken Buck (CO), Tom McClintock (CA), and Mike Gallagher (WI) feared that going forward with the motion could open the doors to a potentially dangerous new precedent. They warned the decision might clear the path for future impeachments against GOP members.

The Senate will begin its proceedings when it returns from recess on February 26. Whereas the House only needed a simple majority to pass their impeachment motion, the Senate will need a two-thirds majority. Considering how narrowly divided the upper chamber currently is, the likelihood of the measure passing is slim at best. Additionally, several Republican senators have already expressed their disapproval of the removal attempt. James Lankford (R-OK) said the impeachment would be “dead on arrival” as soon as it hit the floor.

Mayorkas stands accused of violating the public’s trust and not complying with federal immigration laws. The last cabinet member to be impeached was Secretary of War William Belknap, who resigned just ahead of the 1876 removal vote.

~Here’s to Our Liberty!