Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas labeled the situation at the border as a “broken system” on Sunday.
“It certainly is a crisis, and, well, we don’t bear responsibility for a broken system. And we’re doing a tremendous amount within that broken system. But fundamentally, fundamentally, Congress is the only one who can fix it,” Mayorkas said on NBC’s “Meet the Press” when asked if he bears responsibility for what is happening on the border.
Mayorkas and the Biden administration have been facing scrutiny for months over the handling of the U.S.-Mexico border, which Republicans have frequently labeled as a crisis. Despite Republicans’ calls for President Biden to shut down the border, Republicans torpedoed a bipartisan border security deal that included new provisions for asylum and border regulations last week.
Mayorkas also shut down any speculation that the 25th Amendment to remove President Biden from office is being discussed after some Republicans called for it.
“Kristen, I don’t engage in politics. I’m responsible for governing and following the president’s agenda, which I scrupulously do,” he said, referring to NBC host Kristen Welker. When pressed further about whether the 25th Amendment had been discussed, he said, “Not at all.”
Mayorkas’s comments also come after the House failed to impeach him in a stunning vote last week after a handful of Republicans sided with the Democrats. He dismissed the impeachment when Welker asked about the “serious” allegations, including willfully not following the laws and not securing the border.
“They’re baseless allegations, Kristen, and that’s why I really am not distracted by them and focused on the work of the Department of Homeland Security,” he said.
“I’m inspired every single day by the remarkable work that 260,000 men and women in our department perform on behalf of the American public. I’ve got a busy day today after the show, a busy day of work. I’ve got a busy day Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, and so on,” he continued.