- The Senate is likely to acquit DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas this month
- Mayorkas was the first WH cabinet secretary to be impeached in nearly 150
- The House narrowly voted (214-213) to impeach Secretary Mayorkas on Tuesday
DAILY MAIL
Alejandro Mayorkas, 64, is now only the second cabinet secretary to be impeached and the first in nearly 150 years after Republicans punished the Homeland Security chief for his handling of the southern border crisis.
By a margin of just a single vote, the House of Representatives finally impeached the DHS Secretary on Tuesday – a long time coming for members of the GOP angry at Democrats’ for relaxing immigration policies amid surging migration across the U.S.-Mexico border.
Mayorkas’ impeachment charge comes after the lower chamber narrowly failed to pass the motion in a separate vote last week.
DailyMail.com breaks down Mayorkas’ background, how he became the first cabinet secretary impeached since 1876 and what’s next for the DHS head.
THE HOUSE IMPEACHED MAYORKAS, NOW WHAT?
Tuesday’s 214-213 vote is mostly a rebuke of President Joe Biden and his administration’s policies regarding migration and the southern border, as it’s likely the slim Democrat majority in the Senate will acquit Mayorkas.
Republican Reps. Ken Buck (Colo.), Mike Gallagher (Wis.) and Tom McClintock (Calif.) joined Democrats to oppose the impeachment vote, saying it would be ‘unconstitutional’ and set a ‘bad precedent’ for the GOP in the future.
White the House only requires a simple majority to levy impeachment against a cabinet secretary, the Senate must reach a two-thirds vote to convict and remove the official.
Similarly Mayorkas, former President Donald Trump was impeached twice by the House of Representatives but was later acquitted by the Senate.
Since it’s highly unlikely the Senate will reach the threshold needed to actually convict Mayorkas, it appears nothing will change after the House vote.
Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) said that the appointed House Republican impeachment managers will present the articles to the Senate when it comes back into session at the end of the month.
The Senate’s President Pro Tempore Patty Murray (D-Wash.) will preside over a trial.
