The U.S. House of Representatives failed to impeach Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas after multiple Republicans voted against the process.
The final tally for the vote was 214-216, including four Republicans voting against the process.
Rep. Ken Buck (R-CO), Rep. Mike Gallagher (R-WI), and Rep. Tom McClintock (R-CA) each initially voted against the impeachment, while Rep. Blake Moore (R-UT) switched his vote at the end in order to allow the process to occur again in the future, per CNN.
Each vote was along party lines outside of the four Republican representatives.
House Homeland Security chair Mark Green (R-TN) said following the vote that he was “frustrated” about the outcome but did not rule out the possibility of impeachment again in the future.
“But we will bring it back up, obviously, when Scalise and others are here, and it will pass. It’s a delay is all this is,” he said, per CNN.
House Majority Leader Steve Scalise was not present for the vote as he was recovering from a stem cell transplant in Louisiana.
Raj Shah, a spokesperson for Speaker of the House Mike Johnson, posted on social media after the vote, “House Republicans fully intend to bring Articles of Impeachment against Secretary Mayorkas back to the floor when we have the votes for passage.”
A statement released by DHS in response to the vote called the process “baseless,” adding that “bipartisan opposition and legal experts resoundingly say it is unconstitutional.”
“If House Republicans are serious about border security, they should abandon these political games, and instead support the bipartisan national security agreement in the Senate to get DHS the enforcement resources we need. Secretary Mayorkas remains focused on working across the aisle to promote real solutions at the border and keep our country safe,” stated DHS, according to Fox News correspondent Bill Melugin.
House Republicans released two impeachment articles against Mayorkas over the weekend, alleging that the secretary participated in a ​​”catch and release scheme” and lied to Congress when he said that the border was “secure” and “closed,” as previously reported by The Dallas Express.
