House votes not to impeach homeland security secretary

On Tuesday night, the House voted 214-216 on two articles of impeachment against U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas. The two articles accused him of refusing to enforce and comply with existing U.S. laws and breaching the public trust. Republicans accused Mayorkas of failing to do his job in securing the United States’ southern border. Democrats unanimously sided with Mayorkas, an appointee of the Biden administration. All but four Republicans voted to impeach him.

Why did those Republicans vote against impeachment? Some House Republicans said Mayorkas’ behavior did not rise to the level of impeachable conduct. Tuesday’s vote came after House Republicans in the Homeland Security Committee had conducted what they said was a lengthy investigation into the issues related to the border—including illegal immigration and drug trafficking. Mayorkas denied wrongdoing.

Dig deeper: Read Adam M. Carrington’s column in WORLD Opinions about the articles of impeachment against Mayorkas.