McCarthy demands DHS Secretary Mayorkas’ resignation over border issues and warns of potential impeachment inquiry

Kevin McCarthy on Tuesday demanded the resignation of Homeland Safety Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas and warned of potential impeachment proceedings if he doesn’t step down, marking the Home Republican chief’s strongest feedback on the matter so far as he scrambles to lock down the votes for his speakership.

McCarthy, talking from an occasion on the southern border, stated that when Republicans take over the Home in January, they’ll “examine each order, each motion, and each failure” to find out if they need to start impeachment proceedings.

“Our nation could by no means get better from Secretary Mayorkas’ dereliction of obligation. Because of this at this time I’m calling on the secretary to resign,” he stated. “If Secretary Mayorkas doesn’t resign, Home Republicans will examine each order, each motion and each failure. And we’ll decide whether or not we will start an impeachment inquiry.”

The Division of Homeland Safety stated in a press release that Mayorkas has no plans to resign and referred to as on Congress to give you legislative options to repair the nation’s damaged immigration system. The company continues to keep up that the border is safe, however has acknowledged it’s coping with an unprecedented variety of noncitizens searching for to enter the nation and that shifting demographics have added to the migration challenges they’re dealing with.

“Secretary Mayorkas is proud to advance the noble mission of this Division, assist its extraordinary workforce, and serve the American individuals. He has no plans to resign,” a DHS spokeswoman stated in a press release. “The Division will proceed our work to implement our legal guidelines and safe our border, whereas constructing a secure, orderly, and humane immigration system. Members of Congress ought to come to the desk and work on options for our damaged system and outdated legal guidelines, which haven’t been overhauled in over 40 years.”

Whereas McCarthy and high Republicans have repeatedly promised to launch rigorous investigations into issues on the southern border, McCarthy had – up till this level – largely tamped down impeachment speak, saying they might not pre-determine the result or use impeachment as a political weapon and would observe the information wherever they lead subsequent 12 months.

McCarthy’s shift in tone comes as he’s dealing with a riot from his proper flank within the speaker’s race, with no less than 5 Home Republicans vowing to vote in opposition to him on the ground in January. One of many complaints about McCarthy from the GOP hardliners is that he isn’t aggressive sufficient with regards to investigations and impeachment.

The appropriate flank has been agitating to question Mayorkas particularly, although others within the get together are skeptical that the secretary’s actions meet the bar of excessive crimes and misdemeanors. Impeaching a Cupboard official has solely occurred as soon as in US historical past.

McCarthy – who was nominated by his get together final week to function speaker – made his feedback about Mayorkas from El Paso, Texas, the place he and a bunch of Home Republicans met with border patrol brokers and obtained an operational briefing earlier within the day.

“We spent the day with border brokers,” McCarthy stated at a information convention following their go to. “I requested every one which this border is safe. They laughed. They stated it’s not; it is among the worst factors within the historical past of this nation.”

When pressed on what potential crimes Republicans would examine, McCarthy responded: “Mendacity to the American public, withholding ICE from doing their job, not following via on what the legal guidelines within the books are at this time.”

White Home press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre responded to McCarthy’s deliberate go to to the US-Mexico border earlier Tuesday by asking what his plan is on immigration and accusing Republicans of getting “no plan” and simply “political stunts.”

“The query that now we have for Kevin McCarthy – who’s quickly to be Speaker McCarthy – what’s his plan? What’s he doing to assist the scenario that we’re seeing. What’s his plan? He goes down there and does a political stunt, like many Republicans do, that now we have seen them do, however he truly is just not placing forth a plan,” Jean-Pierre stated when requested in regards to the White Home response to McCarthy’s go to.

Republicans have already began to put the groundwork for investigations associated to the border subsequent 12 months. Prime GOP lawmakers have requested a large swath of paperwork associated to the Biden administration’s enforcement of immigration insurance policies and have formally advised the White Home that they’d prefer to probably maintain hearings and conduct transcribed interviews with Mayorkas and quite a few different officers.