President Joe Biden's White House once considered firing U.S. Homeland Security Secretary (DHS) Alejandro Mayorkas.
According to a new report from the New Yorker, the White House considered firing Mayorkas in the spring of 2023 in an attempt to appease critics of the administration's mishandling of the southern border crisis. The firing, though, never happened.
Now, it might be Congress that gives Mayorkas the boot, as he was just recently impeached by the U.S. House of Representatives.
But, it remains unclear whether the Democrat-controlled U.S. Senate will vote to remove him from office.
The New Yorkers' source is "three administration officials."
"[A]ccording to three Administration officials, during a White House meeting in late spring, Biden’s chief of staff, Ron Klain, raised the possibility of firing Mayorkas, just to reset the Administration’s message," the outlet reports.
It appears, however, that Klain disputes this reporting. He told the outlet, "I never suggested firing Secretary Mayorkas. I consider Ali a friend and a dedicated public servant."
Another revelation from the New Yorker is that the Biden administration stopped Mayorkas from publicly referring to the southern border crisis as a "crisis."
"The White House had instructed Mayorkas to avoid using the word 'crisis in his public appearances, but it was obvious to most observers that there was one," the outlet reports.
The U.S. House of Representatives, under the leadership of Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA), voted to impeach Mayorkas last Tuesday. He was specifically impeached for failing to uphold America's immigration laws.
America has seen record levels of illegal immigration, via the U.S.-Mexico border, during the administration of Biden. And, it is only expected to continue, as there is no sign that the federal government is doing anything to secure the border.
Fox, in January, reported, "December broke records for migrant encounters at the southern border, Customs and Border Protection (CBP) confirmed on Friday, as it released numbers showing that there were a record 302,000 migrant encounters at the southern border."
With regard to Mayorkas, the question now is how the U.S. Senate is going to handle the matter. While the House can impeach, it is the Senate that gets the ultimate say in terms of removal.
The Senate is currently in the hands of the Democrats and, specifically, U.S. Sen. Majority Leader Charles Schumer (D-NY). Thus, if Schumer does decide to hold an impeachment trial, Mayorkas would be expected to be acquitted.
