Mayorkas deflects question about resigning from DHS if impeached

Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas refused to acknowledge the topic of his potential impeachment, including if he would resign if the House moves to put him on trial in the Senate for his handling of the border crisis.

In a Thursday evening interview, Fox News anchor Bret Baier asked Mayorkas if he would step down if impeached after House Republicans begin proceedings on Wednesday.

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“Bret, I lead 260 incredibly dedicated and talented men and women of the Department of Homeland Security,” Mayorkas responded, referring to the department’s 260,000 employees nationwide. “I will continue to lead them in advancing the mission of protecting the American people. That’s what we do in the area of immigration, in the area of cybersecurity, in our fight against human trafficking, in saving communities devastated by extreme weather events.”

Mayorkas raced to distance himself from the burgeoning border crisis in a separate interview Wednesday after the House Homeland Security Committee announced it would begin proceedings to remove him from his Cabinet post.

“We are seeing the greatest number of displaced people not only at our southern border, not only in the Western Hemisphere but across the globe,” Mayorkas told MSNBC’s Morning Joe hosts. “The challenge of displaced people is a subject that comes up in every single conversation. We have the effects of climate change, poverty, increasing level of authoritarianism, the very many challenges that are at the root cause of the displacement of people around the world.”

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Mayorkas said more than 1 million illegal immigrants have been released from the border and into the United States each year since President Joe Biden took office, which he blamed on the immigration system’s inability to get cases before the courts quickly.

If impeached in the House, Mayorkas would be the first Cabinet member to face a trial in the Senate in 148 years. A Democratic-controlled Senate, however, is unlikely to convict him for high crimes and misdemeanors.