UPDATE: House votes against impeaching DHS Sec. Alejandro Mayorkas, but Republicans may secure passage in the future

UPDATE posted at 7:44 p.m. ET:

While the vote to impeach DHS Sec. Alejandro Mayorkas failed in a 214-216 House vote on Tuesday, the vote had been tied 215-215, but GOP Rep. Blake Moore of Utah changed his vote at the last minute, opting to vote against the impeachment in a procedural move. House Republicans will likely be able to pass the impeachment once GOP Rep. Steve Scalise of Louisiana, who was not present for the vote on Tuesday, is back in the mix.

Original story below:

In a 214-216 vote on Tuesday, the House of Representatives voted against impeaching Department of Homeland Security Sec. Alejandro Mayorkas, meaning that the articles of impeachment failed to clear the chamber and head to the Senate.

Three of the four Republicans who voted to oppose the impeachment push reportedly included Reps. Tom McClintock of California, Mike Gallagher of Wisconsin, and Ken Buck of Colorado. The fourth Republican who voted against it, Rep. Blake Moore of Utah, switched his vote as a procedural maneuver that enables the conference to bring the matter back to the floor in the future, according to The Hill.

One of the articles declared that Mayorkas "willfully and systemically refused to comply with the immigration laws, failed to control the border to the detriment of national security, compromised public safety, and violated the rule of law and separation of powers in the Constitution, to the manifest injury of the people of the United States."

The other article asserted that Mayorkas "breached the public trust by knowingly making false statements to Congress and the American people and avoiding lawful oversight in order to obscure the devastating consequences of his willful and systemic refusal to comply with the law and carry out his statutory duties. He has also breached the public trust by willfully refusing to carry out his statutory duty to control the border and guard against illegal entry, notwithstanding the calamitous consequences of his abdication of that duty."

"Alejandro N. Mayorkas thus warrants impeachment and trial, removal from office, and disqualification to hold and enjoy any office of honor, trust, or profit under the United States," both of the articles concluded.

According to a New York Times Magazine piece posted last week, when Mayorkas was asked about the impeachment push, he said, "I have to tell you that I am intensely focused on the work. I have tremendous confidence in my integrity. I have tremendous pride in the people with whom I work, and that is my response." And when asked whether he viewed the process as legitimate, he replied, "I think it is baseless. I think it's a political process, and I am not engaged in politics. I'm engaged in the work of the Department of Homeland Security."

According to U.S. Customs and Border Protection data, the number of southwest land border encounters has increased significantly since President Joe Biden took office in 2021. The figure, which spiked to 101,099 during Biden's first full month in office in February 2021, came in at a staggering 302,034 in December 2023. "In December 2023, the U.S. Border Patrol recorded 249,785 encounters between ports of entry along the southwest border," according to CBP. "CBP's total encounters along the southwest border in December were 302,034."

Mayorkas was sworn in as DHS secretary on February 2, 2021.

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