US House votes to impeach Homeland Security Secretary

Washington, Feb 14 (IANS) The US House of Representatives has voted to impeach Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas for his alleged failure to secure the US-Mexico border from illegal immigration.

Mayorkas became the first cabinet member to face impeachment in nearly 150 years.

The Republican-led House on Tuesday voted 214 to 213 for the measure, after an earlier attempt failed last week.

The issue now heads to the Democratic-led Senate, where it is likely to fail.

President Joe Biden called the vote a "blatant act of unconstitutional partisanship" and a "political stunt", the BBC reported.

The vote was largely divided along party lines, with 210 Democrats voting against the impeachment, along with three Republican representatives -- Tom McClintock of California, Ken Buck of Colorado and Mike Gallagher of Wisconsin.

The three defectors also voted against the first attempt to impeach Mayorkas, saying that impeaching someone who has not committed a serious crime would weaken the constitutional penalty and do little to address the crisis at the border, the British news broadcaster reported.