A House Republican effort to impeach Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas failed 214-216 on the House floor tonight, although all three of New Jersey’s Republican representatives voted in support of impeachment.
House GOP leaders have accused Mayorkas of failing to do his duty in controlling illegal immigration at the U.S. border, and the House Homeland Security Committee approved articles of impeachment last week. But three rogue House Republicans joined every House Democrat in opposing the effort on the floor tonight, which in the current narrowly divided House was enough to sink the bill. (Technically, four Republicans voted against it, but one of them only did so as a procedural move to preserve the option to bring the bill back up later.)
Rep. Tom Kean Jr. (R-Westfield), who represents a swing district in Central Jersey, said in a statement that he supported impeachment because Mayorkas had not done enough to “ensure the safety and security of the homeland.”
“I believe his actions, from the very moment he took office, were a willful and systemic refusal to comply with federal law and a clear breach of public trust,” Kean said. “The Secretary has led the complete failure to address the challenges at the border in a manner consistent with the laws governing immigration and border security. Our constituents and the American people deserve a more effective and secure border.”
Reps. Jeff Van Drew (R-Dennis) and Chris Smith (R-Manchester) supported the impeachment effort as well. New Jersey Democrats, meanwhile, were unanimous in decrying it as a “partisan sham” that failed to find any lawbreaking or impeachment-worthy conduct on Mayorkas’s part.
“Secretary Mayorkas has done his job while operating within a broken immigration system that this Congress has refused to fix,” Rep. Rob Menendez (D-Jersey City) said in remarks delivered on the House floor prior to the vote. “Instead of working with House Democrats and the Biden administration on serious solutions, House Republicans are focused on one thing: appeasing former President Donald Trump.”
Had the House been successful in its efforts to impeach Mayorkas, it would have been the first impeachment of a cabinet official since 1876. But the practical effect of an impeachment would have been relatively minimal, since the Democratic-controlled Senate would have been almost certain to acquit Mayorkas after a trial in that chamber.