Former impeachment champion Joe Biden calls GOP efforts to hold Mayorkas accountable 'unconstitutional'

House Republicans successfully impeached Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas Tuesday night, leaving it to the U.S. Senate to decide his ultimate fate.

While historically a champion of impeachment when a Republican is in the crosshairs, President Joe Biden lashed out at those seeking to hold Mayorkas responsible for overseeing the illegal entry of several million foreign nationals into the nation. Like the DHS, Biden called the vote to impeach his DHS secretary "unconstitutional."

The vote and the articles of impeachment

Without the help of Republican Reps. Ken Buck (Colo.), Mike Gallagher (Wis.), and Tom McClintock (Calif.), the House GOP managed to pass a resolution to impeach Mayorkas in a 214-213 vote Tuesday evening.

The first article of impeachment accuses the Biden Cabinet secretary of a willful and systematic refusal to comply with the law.

Mayorkas allegedly violated "his oath to support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic, to bear true faith and allegiance to the same, and to well and faithfully discharge the duties of his office," according to the article.

The second article accuses the DHS secretary of knowingly making false statements and obstructing lawful oversight of the DHS.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection figures indicate that in Mayorkas' first nine months as DHS secretary, 1,516,650 illegal aliens stole across the southern border and into the United States — nearly quadruple the number of migrants who entered throughout the entirety of the previous fiscal year. Roughly 6 million more have entered the country in the years since.

The Democratic-controlled Senate will almost certainly refuse to charge Mayorkas, rendering the House vote largely symbolic.

Rep. Mark Green (R-Tenn.), chairman of the House Committee on Homeland Security, stressed that his committee's "investigation and subsequent impeachment proceedings demonstrated beyond any doubt that Secretary Mayorkas has willfully and systematically refused to comply with the laws of the United States and breached the public trust."

"With this vote, Congress has made clear that we will not tolerate such lawlessness," added Green.

House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) said, "Secretary Mayorkas has willfully and consistently refused to comply with federal immigration laws, fueling the worst border catastrophe in American history."

"Alejandro Mayorkas deserves to be impeached, and Congress has a constitutional obligation to do so," continued Johnson.

Biden lashes out

Biden was less than pleased over Republicans' successful vote to impeach Mayorkas.

"History will not look kindly on House Republicans for their blatant act of unconstitutional partisanship that has targeted an honorable public servant in order to play petty political games," Biden is credited as saying in a lengthy statement.

Although quick to invoke history in the abstract and to paint the impeachment initiative as petty, Biden previously championed impeachment when it meant the possible removal of a Republican from office.

Biden and other Democrats sought to impeach Trump over a phone call he had with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy concerning possible corruption on the part of the Biden family.

Biden even incorporated such demands for Trump's impeachment into his presidential campaign.

Time reported that while campaigning in 2019, then-candidate Biden told a small audience in Rochester, N.H., "Donald Trump has violated his oath of office, betrayed this nation, and committed impeachable acts. You know, to preserve our Constitution, our democracy, our basic integrity, he should be impeached."

In his Tuesday statement, Biden further claimed Mayorkas "has upheld the rule of law faithfully and has demonstrated a deep commitment to the values that make our nation great."

"Instead of staging political stunts like this, Republicans with genuine concerns about the border should want Congress to deliver more border resources and stronger border security," continued Biden. "Sadly, the same Republicans pushing this baseless impeachment are rejecting bipartisan plans Secretary Mayorkas and others in my administration have worked hard on to strengthen border security at this very moment."

Contrary to the president's suggestion, in recent weeks and months, Mayorkas and other elements of the Biden administration have fought not against illegal immigration but against Texas' efforts to secure the southern border. Just last month, the DHS threatened Texas after the Lone Star State seized control of a high-traffic area along the border in Eagle Pass.

A Jan. 14 letter from DHS General Counsel Jonathan Meyer instructed Texas to "remove all barriers to access to the U.S.-Mexico border."

Extra to casting Mayorkas as a man traduced, Biden accused Republicans of "playing politics with the border."

DHS echoes Biden

The DHS regurgitated the Democratic president's talking points in its response to the impeachment vote, noting, "House Republicans will be remembered by history for trampling on the Constitution for political gain rather than working to solve the serious challenges at the border."

"Without a shred of evidence or legitimate Constitutional grounds, and despite bipartisan opposition, House Republicans have falsely smeared a dedicated public servant who has spent more than 20 years enforcing our laws and serving our country," said DHS spokesman Mia Ehrenberg.

Ehrenberg further alleged that Mayrokas "will continue working every day to keep Americans safe."

Congressional investigators behind the impeachment push suggested in recent reports that Mayorkas' "open-border policies" and the illegal immigration they have ostensibly guaranteed not only impose an annual net burden of hundreds of billions of dollars every year on the U.S. economy but also exacerbate the fentanyl crisis, adversely impact public safety, contribute to a rise in human trafficking and exploitation of minors, and jeopardize public health.

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