U.S. House Majority Whip Tom Emmer, of Minnesota, was among the Republicans who pushed to impeach Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas on Tuesday, saying the secretary’s “malfeasance and active neglect has fueled the worst border crisis in our history.”
The impeachment measure failed on a 214-216 vote, an embarrassing setback for House Republicans trying to punish the Biden administration over its handling of the U.S-Mexico border.
As they pushed for impeachment Tuesday, Emmer and other leading House Republicans declared their opposition to a bipartisan Senate border security bill that sought to reduce illegal crossings by making the asylum process tougher and quicker. The Senate bill would also give presidential administrations an emergency authority to suspend asylum claims if the number of illegal border crossings reaches a certain threshold.
Former President Donald Trump and his allies have come out against the Senate bill, deeming it insufficient. Border security has quickly become a potent political issue ahead of the 2024 election, with Trump and other Republicans seeking to blame President Joe Biden for the high number of migrants crossing the southern border.
“I believe that [if] we are serious about getting our borders under control and protecting our communities, impeachment is the necessary response,” Emmer said of Mayorkas on Tuesday. “Americans who have suffered for far too long under the Biden administration’s open borders agenda deserve nothing less.”
Emmer had accused Mayorkas of “willfully” refusing to enforce federal law and lying to Congress.
Another Minnesota Republican, Rep. Michelle Fischbach, said Mayorkas “has lost the trust of the American people and this Congress.”
“He’s failed to secure the border and has failed to uphold the national security of this country,” Fischbach posted Monday night on X, formerly known as Twitter.
