Impeachment of Alejandro Mayorkas
On January 28, 2024, House Republicans indicated their intention to move forward with two articles of impeachment against Alejandro Mayorkas, the United States Secretary of Homeland Security, alleging "willful and systemic refusal to comply with the law" in regards to federal immigration laws and breach of the public trust. On January 31, Republicans on the House Homeland Security Committee approved the articles along party lines for referral to the full House. Mayorkas is the second Cabinet member in history, and first to be impeached since Secretary of War William W. Belknap in 1876.
| Impeachment of Alejandro Mayorkas | |
|---|---|
The House of Representatives votes to impeach Alejandro Mayorkas | |
| Accused | Alejandro Mayorkas (Secretary of Homeland Security) |
| Proponents | Mike Johnson (Speaker of the House of Representatives) |
| Date | February 13, 2024 – April 17, 2024 (2 months and 4 days) |
| Charges | Dereliction of duty, perjury, contempt of Congress |
| Cause | Mexico–United States border crisis |
| Congressional votes | |
| First vote in the U.S. House of Representatives | |
| Accusation | Failure to comply with Federal immigration laws and breaching the public trust |
| Votes in favor | 214 |
| Votes against | 216 |
| Present | 0 |
| Not voting | 1 |
| Result | Failed |
| Second vote in the U.S. House of Representatives | |
| Accusation | Failure to comply with Federal immigration laws and breaching the public trust |
| Votes in favor | 214 |
| Votes against | 213 |
| Present | 0 |
| Not voting | 4 |
| Result | Approved |
| Vote in the U.S. Senate to dismiss Article I | |
| Accusation | Point of order that Article I — Failure to comply with Federal immigration laws, is unconstitutional and therefore out of order |
| Votes in favor | 51 |
| Votes against | 48 |
| Present | 1 |
| Not voting | 0 |
| Result | Approved; Article ruled unconstitutional and out of order |
| Vote in the U.S. Senate to dismiss Article II | |
| Accusation | Point of order that Article II — Breach of public trust, is unconstitutional and therefore out of order |
| Votes in favor | 51 |
| Votes against | 49 |
| Present | 0 |
| Not voting | 0 |
| Result | Approved; Article ruled unconstitutional and out of order |
A full House vote on February 6 to impeach failed to pass in a 214–216 vote, with four House Republicans joining the minority Democratic Party in voting against the impeachment resolution. Mayorkas was impeached in a second vote on February 13, on a 214–213 vote, with three House Republicans voting "no".
On April 16, the articles of impeachment were delivered to the Senate. The next day, the Senate dismissed the accusations by agreeing to a point of order that the articles of impeachment did not comply with the United States Constitution because they did not "allege conduct that rises to the level of a high crime or misdemeanor".