House Republicans Call for Defunding Mayorkas’s Salary Over Border Crisis

Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas speaks during a press briefing at the White House in Washington on May 11, 2023. Madalina Vasiliu/The Epoch Times

House Republicans are contemplating legislation that would eliminate Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas’s salary in response to mistrust over the failure to enforce the U.S. southern border.

Republican legislators are now insisting that Mr. Mayorkas’s salary be part of the impending government funding dispute.

Among those Republicans is Rep. Nancy Mace (R-S.C.), who said in a July 11 statement, confirmed by her office to The Epoch Times, that the House’s majority party was ready for Biden administration cabinet members to “do their jobs.”

“People are sick of inaction against elected officials who betray their oath and refuse to do their jobs. Congress is given the power of the purse by the Constitution, and if the president’s Cabinet secretaries won’t do their jobs, we should consider using any tool, including the Holman Rule, to defund them and their ability to do further damage,” Ms. Mace said.

“Do your [expletive] job or Congress will act.”

Lawmakers are citing the use of the Holman Rule as a tool for the House of Representatives to file amendments to spending bills that restrict the use of federal funds for programs or even the salaries of specific federal employees.

Another concerned Republican is Rep. Bob Good (R-Va.), who said in a statement confirmed by a staffer for The Epoch Times that “Secretary Mayorkas has facilitated Biden’s large-scale invasion of our southern border by allowing over 6 million illegal aliens—that we know of—to cross and jeopardize our national safety and sovereignty.

“His salary should be completely zeroed out, and he should be impeached as soon as possible,” Mr. Good said.

Responding to the lawmakers’ assertions, a DHS spokesperson told The Epoch Times, “Secretary Mayorkas is proud to advance the noble mission of this Department, support its extraordinary workforce, and serve the American people.

“The Department will continue to enforce our laws and secure our border, protect the nation from terrorism, and improve our cybersecurity, all while building a safe, orderly, and humane immigration system,” the spokesperson said. “Instead of pointing fingers and pursuing baseless attacks, Congress should work with the Department and pass legislation to fix our broken immigration system, which has not been updated in decades.”

Impeachment Attempts

Multiple articles of impeachment have already been submitted to the House against the controversial secretary, including by Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.), who filed the articles against Mr. Mayorkas on May 17.

The lawmaker cited concern about the porousness of the southern border, something that prompted two similar resolutions before Greene’s. Earlier during the 118th Congress, similar articles of impeachment were introduced by both Rep. Andy Biggs (R-Ariz.) and Rep. Pat Fallon (R-Texas).

“Since assuming office, Secretary Mayorkas has aided and abetted the complete invasion of our country by deliberately flooding our nation with drugs, terrorists, and illegal aliens,” Ms. Greene wrote in a statement on the articles.

“He stated under oath that we have operational control of our borders, while also under oath, he stated that no one has ever achieved operational control of the border.”

On June 7, Rep. Clay Higgins (R-La.) filed the fourth set of articles of impeachment against Mr. Mayorkas.

Along with Mr. Higgins’s filing, Republicans announced they were investigating the DHS secretary for alleged dereliction of duty, according to a June 14 report.

“Secretary Mayorkas has long ago crossed that threshold. I prepared the foundational posit of these articles long ago, yet I’ve been prayerful that impeachment might not be required. I’ve given him fair warning to resign his position. Now, he shall reap what he hath sown,” Mr. Higgins wrote in a statement announcing the bill.

Further Investigations

Along with that announcement came the release of a 55-page study written by Republicans on the House Homeland Security Committee, holding Biden administration officials responsible for high migration levels at the U.S.-Mexico border.

Chad Wolf, chair of the Center for Homeland Security, presented testimony on this issue before the House Committee on Homeland Security oversight hearing on June 14.

“In all candor, the Biden Administration is the first administration of either political party to actively take steps to diminish the security along our southern border,” Mr. Wolf said.

Mr. Wolf and other witnesses testified that human trafficking, drug smuggling, and violence are out of control because law enforcement officers charged with securing the border are occupied with processing and caring for illegal immigrants.

According to Mr. Wolf and other witnesses, Mr. Mayorkas knowingly violated the law in order to implement the “open borders” policy favored by the Biden administration.

They claim that Mr. Mayorkas released millions of illegal immigrants into the United States using improper asylum policies and parole abuse. They claimed that these actions demonstrated that the United States was no longer enforcing its immigration laws.

Republicans have charged that Mr. Mayorkas and the Biden administration are circumventing the law through the use of ambiguous language and policies. According to them, Mr. Mayorkas’s tenure has been disastrous.