Texas Gov. Greg Abbott has joined other Republicans in calling for the impeachment of Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas over his handling of border security.
Abbott asserted on The Chris Salcedo Show that “it’s long past time” for Mayorkas to be impeached.
“He’s in charge of homeland security, and he’s made the homeland more insecure than any Homeland Security secretary ever,” Abbott declared. “He needs to be removed.”
“And candidly, what the president is doing is a violation of his oath of office,” he added, implying that President Joe Biden should likely also be removed.
The Biden administration has condemned the Texas governor, with White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre saying, “Gov. Abbott is not moving forward in good faith, he’s just not.”
“The one person who is sowing chaos is Gov. Abbott. That’s what he continues to do, political stunts in an inhumane way,” she continued. “He’s actively undermining our border enforcement plan.”
Abbott responded, “The chaos has been caused by the Biden Administration and its refusal to enforce the immigration laws of the United States.”
“Texas is the only governmental body in the United States of America that is actually preventing people from entering our country illegally,” he continued. “As opposed to chaos, it is only Texas that is abiding by the constitution and using our constitutional authority to deny immigrants illegal entry into this county.”
Other Texas leaders have echoed Abbott’s sentiments, and House Republicans filed impeachment articles against Mayorkas earlier this week.
Rep. Troy Nehls (R-TX) said, “Secretary Mayorkas is responsible for the invasion at our southern border.”
“The impeachment articles have been filed, and my colleagues need to get on board,” he added.
Democrats slammed the impeachment push as partisan, with Rep. Jerrold Nadler (D-NY) calling it “a completely baseless attempt to impeach Mayorkas,” per Roll Call.
Rep. Veronica Escobar (D-TX) echoed Nadler’s sentiment, adding, “We know that the spectacle you’re seeing is part of Republicans’ ultimate distraction strategy: impeachment. … I’m surprised that they aren’t trying to impeach the pope.”
The tensions between Texas and Washington, D.C., concerning the southern border have rapidly escalated, with the Department of Justice recently suing the state over the anti-unlawful migration methods deployed by Gov. Abbott, as reported by The Dallas Express.
The DOJ has filed a motion for a preliminary injunction in the case, while Abbott promised, “Texas will see you in court, Mr. President.”
