Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-NY) declared on Sunday that House Republicans are “the last line of defense” against the Biden administration as they move toward impeaching Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas over the border crisis.
The lawmaker, who is the GOP conference chairwoman and widely considered a potential VP pick for former President Donald Trump, made the comments during an appearance on Fox News after the Homeland Security Committee unveiled two articles of impeachment for consideration.
“This is very important as House Republicans are the last line of defense, and we are holding the Biden administration and Joe Biden accountable for the catastrophe at our southern border,” Stefanik said on Fox News’s “Sunday Morning Futures” with anchor Maria Bartiromo.
WATCH: I joined @MariaBartiromo on @SundayFutures to discuss the @HomelandGOP's articles of impeachment against @SecMayorkas for willfully and systemically refusing to comply with federal immigration laws, the #BidenBorderCrisis, the @HouseGOP's impeachment inquiry into Joe… pic.twitter.com/X85pLmLyVA
— Rep. Elise Stefanik (@RepStefanik) January 28, 2024
“Our committee chair, Mark Green of Homeland Security, has done a tremendous job and has shown to the American people that there has been a willful and refusal to comply with the law and an abuse of power in the position as Secretary of Homeland Security,” Stefanik said.
“You have a wide-open border. It is the number one issue for Americans across the country. And it’s not just the border states, Maria, who are impacted. It’s my home state of New York as well. Every state is a border state,” she added.
The first article introduced on Sunday says Mayorkas has “willfully and systemically refused to comply with Federal immigration laws,” and the second claims the secretary “breached the public trust” by making false statements and “knowingly obstructed lawful oversight” of the Department of Homeland Security.
While Republicans have raised concerns about millions of people crossing the southern border — including some on the terrorist watchlist — and the trafficking of deadly fentanyl, Democrats and the Homeland Security Department have criticized the impeachment effort as a “sham” that violates the U.S. Constitution.
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Stefanik said she thinks it is “telling” that Democrats “are refusing to hold” President Joe Biden “accountable for this border crisis that Joe Biden and his Cabinet have created.”
The congresswoman also called out New York Governor Kathy Hochul, a Democrat who has sought federal help in dealing with a surge in migrants amid “sanctuary” policies that aim to limit cooperation with federal immigration enforcement and an increase in northern border crossings.
Hochul is not one of the governors who are backing Texas in a standoff against the Biden administration to secure its border while she is “begging for relief despite the fact that New York is a sanctuary state and New York City is a sanctuary city where Democrats rolled out the red carpet for illegals,” Stefanik said.