Biggs rolls out new articles of impeachment against DHS Secretary Mayorkas

Written by ABC AUDIO on February 2, 2023

(WASHINGTON) — Arizona Republican Rep. Andy Biggs on Wednesday rolled out new impeachment articles against Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, saying the top Biden administration official has “violated his oath of office, wreaking havoc on this country and he must be impeached.”

“He must be impeached because he is a public official who has lost public trust and is an imminent threat to the United States of America,” Biggs said at a Capitol Hill news conference.

Biggs, who previously introduced articles in 2021, said he would be filing the articles while standing alongside fellow conservative GOP members, including Reps. Lauren Boebert, Marjorie Taylor Greene, Bob Good and others. The presser began as House Speaker Kevin McCarthy’s first in-person meeting with President Joe Biden since winning the gavel was slated to begin.

“Secretary Mayorkas has failed to faithfully uphold his oath and has instead presided over a reckless abandonment of border security and immigration enforcement, the expense of the Constitution and the security of the United States,” the articles read.

Biggs did not provide a hard timeline for when the articles would be moved forward in committee.

When asked if Speaker McCarthy supported the effort to impeach Mayorkas, Biggs didn’t answer directly, but said he was hopeful, adding, “We start this hopefully at the Judiciary Committee.”

Greene made it clear she intends to target President Biden, once again calling to impeach him as well: “It’s also President Biden’s responsibility. I’ve called for his impeachment because of his failure to protect our country as well. And I’ll continue to call to impeach President Biden for that reason as well.”

The articles also come as Republicans held their first hearing on the border crisis, highlighting the issue at the House Judiciary Committee earlier on Wednesday.

The move follows months of conservative Republicans vowing to impeach Mayorkas and even with Speaker McCarthy holding an event on the border weeks back calling for an investigation into the DHS secretary.

Biggs’s announcement also comes weeks after Rep. Pat Fallon, R-Texas, introduced his own impeachment articles against Mayorkas on Jan. 10. Fallon accused Mayorkas of failing to maintain operational control, providing false testimony to Congress and misleading the public. A DHS official said at the time they believed Fallon’s impeachment articles had no factual grounds.

Biggs said Wednesday he and Fallon will co-sponsor each other’s impeachment resolutions.

Mayorkas said in January, just after Republicans took control of the House, that he was ready for any congressional investigations and that he had no intention of resigning.

“I’ve got a lot of work to do, and we’re going to do it,” Mayorkas told ABC News’ George Stephanopoulos on “This Week.”