The Senate Homeland Security Committee voted to appoint Alejandro Mayorkas as Secretary of Homeland Security, and passed a full vote in the Senate on his confirmation.
The committee voted 7 to 4 to send his nomination to the Senate floor on Tuesday, with one additional vote against the nomination by proxy. GOP Senators Ron Johnson, James Lankford, Rick Scott, Josh Hawley and Rand Paul voted against promoting Mayorkas to a full Senate vote.
Mayorkas testified before the committee last week.
Johnson led the charge among those who registered their opposition and expressed concern over a 2015 Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Inspector General report that found Mayorkas pushing for the approval of applications for a program for wealthy immigrant investors on behalf of well-connected Democrats when he was a director of the US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS).
“My preference would have been not to broadcast this dirty laundry in public. I would have hoped President Biden would have had a better sense to nominate and continue the nomination,” said the outgoing chairman. He later added, “I have had a good working relationship with Mr. Mayorkas as Deputy Secretary of DHS and I hope to work with him in good faith if confirmed as Secretary. I just cannot support his appointment and I would members want to urge members not to.
GOP Senators Rob Portman and Mitt Romney expressed concern about the 2015 report, but ultimately voted to move his nomination to the upper house.
“We have just endured a president of more than four years who I will say generously had a relaxed relationship with the truth. And I think we want the highest level of integrity in government positions,” Romney noted, and he noted. that Mayorkas acknowledged his mistakes in a private conversation and vowed to learn from them.
“This is a tough one,” admitted Portman. Ultimately, the Ohio senator reasoned Mayorkas’s fate was already sealed. “He will be confirmed. The question is how soon he will be in place,” he told his colleagues, noting the importance of putting a secretary at the helm of DHS in the aftermath of the cyber attack. from Solar Winds.
Democratic Chairman-to-be Gary Peters urged colleagues to “speed up the confirmation of Mayorkas as much as possible”.
“In fact, every day that this confirmation process is delayed, the American people and our national security are at risk from threats from domestic terrorism, cyber-attacks and the ongoing pandemic and much more,” said Peters.
Senators wished Portman the best after announcing that he will retire in 2022. Then Romney intervened with a laugh. “Don’t worry too much about his departure because he’s just running his campaign for president.”