Mayorkas stares down storm of impeachment hearing, border talks

Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas is at the heart of congested congressional traffic this week as House Republicans kick off their impeachment efforts against him and he remains knee-deep in negotiations with senators on a border package that has proven to be a tough lift.

Mayorkas has been at the center of the GOP fury with the Biden administration’s handling of the border, which has seen month-over-month record numbers of illegal crossings. 

This week, though, represents the perfect storm for the embattled cabinet secretary as border talks come to a head and the House Homeland Security Committee holds its first hearing Wednesday as part of the impeachment process. 

“I think he’s a consummate professional and he knows there are things we need to do. There are additional tools he wants. I support him in that. I support the negotiations,” Sen. Debbie Stabenow (Mich.), the No. 3 Senate Democrat, said about the two-pronged issues he faces. “It’s a challenging situation.”

Republicans in support of impeaching Mayorkas allege he has intentionally disregarded the law and allowed migrants and drugs to enter the country. Wednesday’s hearing is titled, “Havoc in the Heartland: How Secretary Mayorkas’ Failed Leadership Has Impacted the States.” It marks the first in a set of hearings to get the ball rolling against Mayorkas and will take place after the panel released a 111-page report that capped off “phase 1” of the process.

On two occasions last year, House GOP members helped kill off attempts to impeach Mayorkas, but the latest push’s movement through the formal committee process has helped win over moderate members, putting the trains in motion against him. 

That’s sent Democrats and DHS more on offense.

A memo released by DHS ahead of the House hearing cast the impeachment effort as a “baseless and pointless political attack.”

“This unprecedented process, led by extremists, is harmful to the Department and its workforce and undercuts vital work across countless national security priorities. Unlike like those pursuing photo ops and politics, Secretary Mayorkas is working relentlessly to fix the problem by working with Republican and Democratic Senators to find common ground and real solutions,” the department wrote in the memo.  

“Members of Congress serious about addressing these challenges should oppose this baseless impeachment that is going nowhere and instead work with the Department to keep America safe by properly funding DHS’s vital missions and reforming our broken immigration laws.” 

Now, senators are grappling with the possibility of an impeachment trial coming down the rails against someone Sen. James Lankford (R-Okla.) is actively working with to secure a border deal, which could be struck as early as next week. 

They acknowledge the odd situation at play.

“We’re all grateful that impeachment doesn’t begin in the Senate,” Sen. Kevin Cramer (R-N.D.) said with a laugh. “I think anybody that’s in the executive branch understands the differences between the two institutions and certainly the members over here versus the members over there, and hopefully it doesn’t complicate James’ work.” 

“I’m certain it’s not a coordinated effort,” Cramer quipped.

Lankford has repeatedly downplayed Mayorkas’s role in discussions, maintaining that he doesn’t have any effect on policies being discussed at the table with him, Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.), Sen. Kyrsten Sinema (I-Ariz.) and top White House officials. 

Rather, the DHS secretary has been involved on the “technical” side, Lankford says. He added that while he agrees with his House colleagues about the tumult at the border, legislative changes trump ousting Mayorkas. 

“Mayorkas is carrying out President Biden’s policies. That’s what a secretary’s going to do. You can swap secretaries, the policies are going to be exactly the same on it. President Trump had four different leaders, but he had the same policy,” Lankford told reporters. 

“My response is I understand their frustration, but you still have a President Biden who’s going to have the exact same policies,” he continued. “Until we change the law, until we change the execution of it, we’re going to have the same results.” 

This has not cooled off the Republican anger in each chamber directed at Mayorkas. Sen. Mike Braun (R-Ind.) said that he believes the appetite to boot him from office among congressional Republicans is “very ravenous.”

“He’s been the maestro, hasn’t he?” Braun said, adding that he believes the border has eclipsed the economy as the number one issue in his home state.

Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas), a top ally of leadership, told reporters last month that Mayorkas should be impeached, adding that he had “no confidence at all in him.” He also noted that Biden would be the ultimate decision maker. 

But whether the Senate GOP ultimately jumps on board to back the impeachment push remains an open question. While most members are extremely dissatisfied with Mayorkas’ performance in office, they wonder whether his actions rise to the level of high crimes and misdemeanors.

Some are also concerned that a successful impeachment vote in the House could complicate the Senate’s ability to work on a government funding package and the border component to unlock Biden’s emergency supplemental and aid for Ukraine. 

“The idea of impeaching cabinet secretaries who can be fired by the president is just sort of a waste of effort altogether,” Cramer said. “I think impeachments should be reserved for people who don’t have a boss.” 

Cramer also panned the newly-mined calls to impeach Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin for not revealing his health status and hospital stay for days, calling it the “dumbest idea.” The Pentagon revealed on Tuesday that Austin had surgery related to prostate cancer.