Conservative lawmakers, including US Sen. Josh Hawley and former Senator Jim DeMint, are calling for the resignation of Alejandro Mayorkas, the head of the Department of Homeland Security, following the resignation of the head of the Secret Service, Kimberly Cheatle. Cheatle had come under fire for vague answers during a Congressional Oversight Committee Hearing relating to security failures before the attempted assassination of former President Donald Trump. Hawley and other conservatives believe Mayorkas should resign as well, as he has oversight over Cheatle and the Secret Service.
The Department of Homeland Security, which includes the Secret Service, has been under scrutiny for its handling of issues such as border security. Mayorkas was impeached by US House Republicans in February over his handling of the border crisis, where over 12 million foreign nationals crossed the US border illegally while under his watch. He was the first sitting cabinet member to be impeached in US history, but the charges were dismissed by the Democratic-controlled Senate without a trial.
Political activists and commentators, including former college swimmer turned activist Riley Gaines and former assistant secretary for Public Affairs Monica Crowley, have also called for Mayorkas’ resignation. Gaines questioned why Mayorkas hadn’t addressed the situation with Cheatle, why he didn’t fire her before she resigned, and why he hasn’t visited the site where the events took place. Crowley went further, stating that Cheatle and Mayorkas should be criminally charged, prosecuted, and jailed, in response to the controversies surrounding the Secret Service.
Mayorkas released a statement expressing gratitude to Kimberly Cheatle for her leadership and lifelong devotion to the United States. He praised the work of the men and women of the Secret Service for risking their lives every day to protect others, calling the agency the finest protection agency in the world. Despite the calls for his resignation, Mayorkas has not indicated any intention to step down from his position as head of the Department of Homeland Security.
The controversy surrounding the resignation of Kimberly Cheatle and the calls for Alejandro Mayorkas’ resignation highlight ongoing concerns about security failures within the Department of Homeland Security. Conservative lawmakers and activists argue that Mayorkas should take responsibility for the issues within the agency, particularly in light of the impeachment proceedings against him and the calls for criminal charges to be brought against him and Cheatle. The situation raises questions about accountability and transparency within the Department of Homeland Security and the Secret Service.
As the debate over Mayorkas’ future continues to unfold, it remains to be seen whether he will face any further consequences for the controversies surrounding the Secret Service. The demands for his resignation, coupled with calls for criminal charges, suggest that the issue is far from resolved and may have broader implications for the Department of Homeland Security and the Biden administration as a whole. The fallout from Cheatle’s resignation and the subsequent calls for Mayorkas’ resignation have further fueled the partisan divide over issues of national security and border control in the United States.
