Alejandro Mayorkas impeached by United States House of Representatives

On 13th February, the United States House of Representatives impeached Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas, with 214 votes in favour of impeachment and 213 votes against, making him the first cabinet member to be impeached since 1876.

Alejandro Mayorkas

An earlier impeachment vote, which took place on 6th February, failed with 214 votes in favour and 216 votes against.

The efforts to impeach Mayorkas are due to concerns raised by Republican representatives that the federal government is not doing enough to prevent the entrance of illegal immigrants into the United States.

In order to remove a sitting Cabinet member or President, the Senate needs to convict them of the offense that they were impeached for, with 67 votes in favour needed for conviction. Since the Senate has a Democratic majority, Alejandro Mayorkas will likely be acquitted and remain in office.