Republicans leading impeachment hearings into Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas have asked for written testimony from Mayorkas after saying he “declined” to testify in person, but a letter obtained by NBC News indicates he was willing to testify on a different date than the one requested.
The Republican-led Homeland Security Committee had asked Mayorkas via letter to testify this Thursday, Jan. 18. The letter did not offer alternative dates for Mayorkas to appear.
In a letter responding to the committee sent last Thursday, Jan. 11, the Department of Homeland Security said Mayorkas could not testify this week for scheduling reasons, in part because he was scheduled to host Mexican government officials to discuss border enforcement.
“In keeping with the Secretary’s commitment to cooperate with Congressional Committees, he will make himself available to testify before the Committee,” said the DHS letter. “We look forward to working through the details with Committee staff and agreeing upon the date and structure of the hearing. As you can appreciate, the Secretary’s schedule is quite committed with the work of the Department including hosting Mexican Cabinet Members next week to discuss border enforcement.”
The Mexican delegation, which includes members of President Andrés Manuel López Obrador’s Cabinet, is traveling to Washington to discuss and negotiate new policies to stem the flow of migration. The negotiations began last month when Mayorkas and Secretary of State Antony Blinken went to Mexico to ask Mexico to do more to stop U.S.-bound migrants.
Republicans on the Homeland Security Committee, led by Chairman Mark Green of Tennessee, said in their letter that they are “offering the Secretary the opportunity to submit written testimony for the record in defense of his refusal to follow the laws of the United States and betrayal of the public trust.”
Two Democratic sources said Republicans on the committee refused to offer more dates for Mayorkas, in part because they want to have a vote to impeach him by the end of the month.
A spokesperson for DHS said that by refusing to offer more dates, “it’s abundantly clear that they are not interested in hearing from Secretary Mayorkas since it doesn’t fit into their bad faith, predetermined and unconstitutional rush to impeach him.”
It was not immediately clear whether Mayorkas will submit written testimony to the committee. A DHS official noted that Mayorkas has testified before Congress more than any other Biden Cabinet member, 27 times over 35 months, where he has focused mostly on answering questions about immigration at the southern border.
