The House of Representatives approved the impeachment of Alejandro Mayorkas on Tuesday night. After a failed vote, Republicans managed to get 214 votes in favor, making the official the second cabinet member to face impeachment in U.S. history. Within hours of the vote, a leading GOP congressman slipped the possibility of using this legislative tool more often.
Mark Green (R-TN), chairman of the House Committee on Homeland Security, was one of the most vocal critics of Mayorkas' tenure, claiming the secretary had failed to live up to his oath after his handling of the southern border.
Once the vote was over, POLITICO asked him who should be his replacement, and his response left the door open for more impeachment proceedings against officials deemed ineffective.
HOMELAND Chair Mark Green says when I asked if he’s concerned at all about who will replace Mayorkas as head of DHS.
“Of course I am, but if that person doesn't do his job well, we will impeach his ass too.”
— Olivia Beavers (@Olivia_Beavers) February 14, 2024
"Of course I am, but if that person doesn't do his job well, we will impeach his ass too," assured Green, who had already criticized Mayorkas during a hearing on Capitol Hill.
"You have not secured our borders, Mr. Secretary, and I believe you've done so intentionally. There is no other explanation for the systematic dismantling and transformation of our border into a lawless and dangerous open border," he told him in April 2023.
At the same time, the congressman made his views on cabinet officials clear in an op-ed column he wrote for The Wall Street Journal.
"This transcends mere policy disagreements. The people's representatives are seeking to address a cabinet official's unlawful actions, which have clearly harmed the country. The homeland security secretary has a statutory duty under the Immigration and Nationality Act to 'control and guard' America's borders, and numerous other provisions of the act mandate how he is to do so," he wrote.
