House holds first hearing to impeach homeland security secretary

Members of the House Homeland Security Committee met Wednesday to begin the process of impeaching Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas.  Lawmakers said he failed to secure the nation’s southern border. Ahead of the hearing, the committee conducted a monthslong investigation into Mayorkas’ so-called “dereliction of duty.” The investigation determined that Mayorkas and the Biden administration failed to enforce border protections passed by Congress, Committee Chairman Mark Green, R-Tenn., said during the hearing Wednesday. Border officials have reported a significant increase in illegal crossings in recent months, including a record of more than 300,000 migrant encounters last month. Mayorkas did not attend the hearing.

What have Democrats said? Committee member Bennie Thompson, D-Miss., on Wednesday called the impeachment effort “baseless.” Meanwhile, a bipartisan group of senators has been meeting to negotiate new border security policies. The Biden administration has asked Congress to approve more funding for the border as part of a larger package that would also provide aid to Ukraine.

Dig deeper: Read Leo Briceno’s report in The Stew about the House impeachment probe into President Joe Biden.