Kevin McCarthy calls for Homeland Security Secretary Mayorkas to resign or face impeachment inquiry over 'the collapse of our border'

House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, of Calif., speaks during a news conference, Nov. 15, 2022, after voting on top House Republican leadership positions, on Capitol Hill in Washington. The Republican Party’s narrow capture of the House majority is poised to transform the agenda in Washington, empowering GOP lawmakers to pursue conservative goals and vigorously challenge the policies of President Joe Biden and his administration.

AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin, File

• Rep. Kevin McCarthy on Tuesday called for the resignation of DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas.
• Citing conditions at the border, McCarthy said he'd investigate Mayorkas if he doesn't step down.
• Investigations could lead to Mayorkas' impeachment.

Citing conditions at the US-Mexico border, California Rep. Kevin McCarthy on Tuesday called for the resignation of DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, saying he would investigate the Biden-appointed official if he does not step down.

McCarthy said during a visit with U.S. Customs and Border Protection personnel in El Paso, Texas, with six other Republicans that the nation has never been more at risk due to illegal border crossings, calling it the "worst border crisis" in US history.

Last year, US Border Patrol recorded the highest-ever number of southwest border interactions with migrants, according to Pew Research Center. US Customs and Border patrol has consistently recorded over 150,000 illegal crossings every month this year. Migrants from Mexico, Venezuela, and Guatemala have increasingly been making the dangerous journey toward the US northern border, risking their lives to escape poverty, climate change and political instability.

McCarthy specifically took aim at the coming end of title Title 42 as cause for concern at the border. The Trump-era policy that allows migrants to be turned away at the border due to COVID-19 concerns is set to be discontinued next month after a U.S. District Court judge declared the policy unlawful, CBS reported.

As a Biden-appointed cabinet member to the Department of Homeland Security, Mayorkas oversees the country's border policy and counter-terrorism measures. In April, Mayorkas expressed his support for ending the public health measure and reverting to the traditional Title 8 procedures for processing migrants that the country has historically relied on. 

"If Secretary Mayorkas does not resign," McCarthy said in a press conference, "House Republicans will investigate every order, every action and every failure. We'll determine whether we can begin impeachment inquiry."

 

—Kevin McCarthy (@GOPLeader) November 22, 2022

McCarthy is the frontrunner to become Speaker of the House in the next Congressional session, when Republicans will retake control of the House following this year's midterm elections. Following the two impeachments of former President Trump, GOP representatives have said there is pressure to impeach Biden and members of his administration.

If Mayorkas is impeached, his would be the second ever impeachment of a presidential cabinet member, the Washington Post reported. William Belknap, president Ulysses S. Grant's secretary of war, was impeached in 1876 for accepting bribes.

"We never do impeachment for political purposes," McCarthy said Tuesday, appearing to head off criticisms that GOP leaders may politicize the impeachment process to challenge Biden appointments and policies in an effort to stall his administration's progress. "If the investigation leads to an impeachment inquiry, we will follow through."

Representatives for McCarthy and the Department of Homeland Security did not immediately respond to Insider's requests for comment.

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