Mayorkas says he is not deterred by the Republicans' impeachment action
Alejandro N. Mayorkas, the secretary of Homeland Security, said Sunday that he was not considering ongoing efforts by Republicans in Congress to impeach him over his handling of the southern border.
“These are baseless allegations, Kristen, and that's why I'm not going to let them distract me and focus on the work of the Department of Homeland Security,” he said in an interview with Kristen Welker on NBC's “Meet the Press.” “I have a busy day today. After the show a busy working day. I have a busy day on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and so on.”
Republican leaders in the House of Representatives suffered a stunning defeat last week in their first attempt to oust Mr. Mayorkas, but they have vowed to try again.
They have argued that Mr. Mayorkas should be charged with high crimes and misdemeanors for failing to enforce immigration laws. Mr. Mayorkas has denied these claims, saying the United States allows a presidential administration to have flexibility in border policy.
He said it's up to Congress to fix a “broken” immigration system, just days after a bipartisan deal to overhaul southern border policy was stymied in the Senate.
“It is certainly a crisis and, well, we bear no responsibility for a broken system,” Mr. Mayorkas said. “And we do a tremendous amount within that broken system. But fundamentally, Congress is the only one who can fix this.”
Mr. Mayorkas, the first Latino to lead the department, has testified before Congress more than any other member of President Biden's Cabinet — a total of more than 20 times. He has told Republican officials in the House of Representatives that their efforts to impeach him will not affect the work he does, and has insisted he will not resign if their effort is successful.
In a January letter to Representative Mark E. Green, Republican of Tennessee and chairman of the Homeland Security Committee, Mr. Mayorkas said the push to impeach him had not swayed him.
“I assure you that your false accusations do not upset me or distract me from the law enforcement and broader public service to which I have devoted most of my career and to which I remain committed,” he wrote.
One of the Republicans who broke with his party by voting against impeachment, Rep. Mike Gallagher Wisconsin, said Saturday he would not seek re-election.
Mr. Gallagher wrote in a Op-ed from the Wall Street Journal last week that the impeachment efforts were misguided.
“I disagree with my Republican colleagues who voted to impeach Mr. Mayorkas on Tuesday,” he wrote. “Impeachment would not only fail to solve Mr. Biden's border crisis, but also set a dangerous new precedent that will be used against future Republican administrations.”