House Republicans echoed calls for the impeachment of Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas on Tuesday ahead of President Biden's State of the Union address.
Lawmakers spoke to Fox News Digital on a possible Mayorkas impeachment ahead of Biden's speech, during which they said he must pledge to work with his administration to secure the border and protect Americans.
"Unfortunately Secretary Mayorkas has shown a complete disregard for the laws that are in place right now," said Rep. Matt Rosendale, R-Mont., who says he supports the resolution to remove Mayorkas from office.
Rep. Claudia Tenney, a cosponsor of the bill to impeach the secretary, says her district sees the effects of the open border in upstate New York. Tenney sent a letter to the Biden administration demanding transparency on their handling of the border.
"My perspective right now is we're going to do some significant oversight. And when we're done, if the information that we gather shows that he's worthy of being impeached, we'll pass that off to [House Judiciary Chairman] Jim Jordan," said Homeland Security Chairman Mark Green.
LIVE UPDATES: STATE OF THE UNION ADDRESS 2023
Rep. Andy Biggs introduced a new resolution to impeach Secretary Mayorkas last week that 28 House lawmakers have signed on to so far. Biggs was the first House Republican to introduce articles of impeachment against Mayorkas in August 2021.
Secretary Mayorkas' policies have "incentivized more than 5 million illegal aliens to show up at our southern border—an all-time figure. Instead of enforcing the laws on the books and deporting or detaining these illegal aliens, the vast majority of them are released into the interior and never heard from again," Biggs said in a statement last week.
Mayorkas is "implicit in all the human trafficking, sex trafficking and drug trafficking that is going on in the United States," said Rep. Debbie Lesko, R-Ariz., a cosponsor of Biggs' latest bill to impeach the secretary.
Homeland Security Committee member Rep. August Pfluger says he plans to explore the matter further with his committee.
Illinois Rep. Mike Bost said he sees better alternatives than impeachment to hold the administration accountable for the border crisis, but would vote in favor of impeachment if the vote came to the floor.
The White House has said Biden is expected to explain in his address a strategy to "reassert America’s leadership around the world," as his administration grapples with the fallout from the spy balloon.
The president's remarks will be followed by a speech from newly-elected GOP Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders who will deliver the Republican response.