Republicans in the House of Representatives have impeached Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas in a narrow vote, 214-213, in a reversal of last week’s failed attempt at impeachment. The act, carried along partisan lines by House Republicans, is seen as an effort to rebuke the Biden administration’s policies at the U.S.-Mexico border.

Mayorkas is now only the second Cabinet secretary to face impeachment, nearly 150 years after the last impeachment of a presidential adviser. The House-approved articles of impeachment will now be sent to the Senate for trial, which requires a two-thirds majority for conviction -- all but assuring the vote will fail.

What You Need To Know

  • Republicans in the House of Representatives narrowly voted to impeach Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, continuing their effort to rebuke the Biden administration's policies at the U.S.-Mexico border

  • It's the first time since 1876 that a Cabinet secretary has been impeached, and only the second time in U.S. history

  • Last week's failed vote, in which three Republicans break with their party to sink the measure (a fourth changed his vote for procedural reasons), was a stunning and embarrassing moment for the House Republican conference with their razor-thin majority

  • House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., won reprieve in the form of House Majority Leader Steve Scalise's return to Washington after undergoing cancer treatment, giving him the one vote he needed to put the measure over the top

"History will not look kindly on House Republicans for their blatant act of unconstitutional partisanship that has targeted an honorable public servant in order to play petty political games," President Joe Biden said in a statement released shortly after the vote. "Instead of staging political stunts like this, Republicans with genuine concerns about the border should want Congress to deliver more border resources and stronger border security."

House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., spiked the football in a statement shortly after the vote’s passage, charging that Mayorkas "has willfully and consistently refused to comply with federal immigration laws, fueling the worst border catastrophe in American history," adding that he believes the cabinet secretary has has "violated his oath of office."

Last week’s failed vote saw three Republicans break from the party line to kill the measure — a fourth changed his vote for procedural reasons. The failure was a stunning and embarrassing moment for the House GOP conference, showcasing an inability to whip up the votes needed to sustain a razor-thin majority over House Democrats in the matter. Minutes later, a vote on a standalone Israel aid bill backed by Speaker Johnson failed, capping off a rough day for the GOP conference.

Four Republicans — Colorado Rep. Ken Buck, California Rep. Tom McClintock, Utah Rep. Blake Moore and Wisconsin Rep. Mike Gallagher — joined all Democrats to sink the measure. (Moore, the vice chair of the House GOP conference, changed his vote from a yes to a no in a procedural move so the impeachment measure could be brought up again.)

All three of those Republicans broke ranks again to oppose the measure. But Speaker Johnson won a reprieve in the form of House Majority Leader Steve Scalise's return to Washington after undergoing cancer treatment, bolstering his conference's numbers. 

Colorado Rep. Ken Buck wrote in an op-ed that Mayorkas' conduct is not grounds for impeachment.

"To be clear, Secretary Mayorkas has completely failed at his job. He is incompetent. He is an embarrassment," Buck charged. "And he will most likely be remembered as the worst secretary of Homeland Security in the history of the United States. However, the Constitution is clear that impeachment is reserved for 'Treason, Bribery, or other high Crimes and Misdemeanors.' Maladministration or incompetence does not rise to what our founders considered an impeachable offense."

"Partisan impeachments that do not meet the constitutional standard will boomerang back and hurt Republicans in the future," Buck continued. "I can envision a future Republican administration where a Democrat-led House uses this precedent to act against a Republican Cabinet member who isn’t discharging their duties in a way that Democrats desire."

McClintock also came out against the impeachment effort, saying the articles "fail to identify an impeachable crime that Mayorkas has committed. In effect, they stretch and distort the Constitution in order to hold the administration accountable."

"The only way to stop the border invasion is to replace the Biden administration at the ballot box," he wrote on social media. "Swapping one leftist for another is a fantasy, solves nothing, excuses Biden’s culpability, and unconstitutionally expands impeachment that someday will bite Republicans."

The votes were the culmination of a months-long push by House Republicans to punish the Biden administration for what they describe as a failure to secure the U.S.-Mexico border. But Democrats have long railed against the impeachment of Mayorkas, calling it a sham and an effort to appease the frontrunner for the Republican presidential nomination, Donald Trump.

"Tonight proves it: the @HouseGOP has never cared about border security, only craven political games," House Democratic Whip Katherine Clark posted Tuesday on X, formerly Twitter. "They voted for this baseless impeachment solely to undermine bipartisan action, foment chaos, and bolster Donald Trump. It's shameful."

"Impeaching a Cabinet Secretary simply because you disagree with his policies and refuse to accept that President Biden is the legitimately elected President is a dangerous new low," Rep. Pramila Jayapal, D-Wash., said in a statement following the vote. "As we hurdle toward another shutdown deadline without a budget passed, Republicans should be focusing on funding our government and helping working families – not attacking administration officials to score political points.”

The only other Cabinet official to be impeached was Secretary of War William Belknap in 1876 over corruption allegations. The Senate acquitted him.

Spectrum News' Ryan Chatelain contributed to this report.