The Department of Homeland Security defended Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, amid House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy's call for his resignation or potential impeachment.
In a Wednesday statement to Fox News, the department defended Mayorkas' integrity even as illegal border crossing apprehensions reached a shocking 2,214,652 number for Fiscal Year 2022, a Customs and Border Protection record.
"Secretary Mayorkas is proud to advance the noble mission of this Department, support its extraordinary workforce, and serve the American people," a DHS spokesperson told the network. "The Department will continue our work to enforce our laws and secure our border while building a safe, orderly, and humane immigration system."
The comments arrive one day after McCarthy, the current favorite to be House speaker next term, announced at the southern border in El Paso, Texas, that Mayorkas' days could be numbered even if he doesn't step down.
"If Secretary Mayorkas does not resign, House Republicans will investigate every order, every action, and every failure to determine whether we can begin impeachment inquiry," McCarthy said. "The American public deserves more, deserves better, and expects more within their government."
"Just last week, Secretary Mayorkas testified under oath that yes, the border is secure. I'm here to tell you that it is not," he said, adding that an investigation will start immediately after Republicans take power.
The Biden administration came out in defense of Mayorkas hours before the California Republican made his demands known, questioning the seriousness of McCarthy and referring to his speech as "a political stunt."
"What is he doing to help the situation that we're seeing?" White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre asked. "He goes down there, and he does a political stunt — like many Republicans do — that we have seen them do, [and] not put forth a plan."
"We've partnered with Mexico and Guatemala to tackle the criminal smuggling networks preying on immigrants," she continued. "Those efforts have already resulted in thousands of arrests ... and we're stopping fentanyl before it even makes it to the streets of the United States."
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