WASHINGTON (NEXSTAR) — Wednesday should have been the day the impeachment trial of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas moved forward in the Senate, but instead Mayorkas spent the day defending his job before the same people who are looking to fire him.
“I do understand the challenges at our border, and I certainly don’t dance around them,” Mayorkas told members of the House Appropriations Committee.
Mayorkas testified before the House and Senate appropriators on Wednesday on why they should approve over $108 billion for his agency but Rep. Ashley Hinson (R-Iowa) told Mayorkas during the hearing that she doesn’t want him in charge of the border at all.
“Mr. Secretary we have seen gamesmanship out of the administration and gimmicks, and I called for your resignation last year and I stand by my request,” Hinson said.
Hinson was one of many House Republicans who voted in February to impeach Secretary Mayorkas for violating federal law, and not enforcing immigration policy.
Once House impeachment managers deliver the articles to the Senate, the Senate must immediately start the process of a trial. That was supposed to happen on Wednesday, but late Tuesday some Republicans said they need more time.
“Maybe talking about it for a few days before we take the Constitution and turn it upside down just might be a wise thing to do,” Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.) said.
Kennedy says not all Republicans are on board with a trial, and the extra time will help them rally more support.
“We have some free-range chickens,” Kennedy said. “And they wander off and sometimes we can’t catch them.”
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer defended Mayorkas and called the impeachment charges “absurd”.
“We’re gonna try and resolve this issue as quickly as possible,” Schumer said.
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