Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas survived an impeachment vote on Tuesday.
House Republicans needed nearly every member to vote in favor of impeachment, but four GOP lawmakers did not vote in favor of the measure.
They included Rep. Blake Moore, Rep. Tom McClintock, Rep. Ken Buck and Rep. Mike Gallagher.
Moore changed his vote from "yes" to "no" for procedural reasons that allow the measure to be brought to the floor again.
The Republicans in favor of impeachment said it would have held Mayorkas accountable for what they call his failure to control immigration at the U.S.-Mexico border.
“The facts are indisputable — for three years, Secretary Mayorkas has willfully and systemically refused to comply with the laws enacted by Congress, and he has breached the public trust. His actions created this unprecedented crisis, turning every state into a border state," Homeland Security Chairman Mark Green, R-Maryland, said.
Last week, Green's committee voted to recommend impeaching Mayorkas by an 18-15 margin, strictly by party lines.
Even if the House voted to impeach Mayorkas, he likely would have not been convicted in the Senate and removed from office. Democrats hold the majority in the Senate, and removing Mayorkas would have needed a two-thirds majority.
Democrats have called this whole process a "political stunt."
Following the vote, the White House accused Republicans of playing politics with the border issue.
“Clearly there is bipartisan agreement that this baseless, unconstitutional impeachment stunt should fail. House Republicans ought to realize that extreme political stunts like this are a waste of time, and instead join the President, Secretary Mayorkas, and Republicans and Democrats who want to work together to deliver real solutions that actually strengthen border security," a statement from a White House spokesperson read.
A rising number of migrants from Central America have attempted to enter the U.S. to claim asylum.
In fiscal year 2017 (which ran from October 2016 through September 2017), there were 526,901 total enforcement actions by Border Patrol. In fiscal year 2023, that number increased to over 3.2 million.
President Biden thinks bipartisan Senate border bill will get 60 votes
Speaker Mike Johnson said on Monday that the bill, as currently proposed, would not see the light of day in the House of Representatives.
