Alejandro Mayorkas may now hold the distinction as the first Cabinet secretary to be impeached since 1876. But in the days since that House vote, the Homeland Security secretary has acted as if nothing ever happened.
That’s by design.
The White House is hoping to demonstrate that it is business as usual at DHS, eager to show that the president’s team is unfazed by the impeachment and to portray Republicans as consumed by partisan vendettas at the cost of tending to the crisis at the southern border.
Since Tuesday’s House vote, Mayorkas has been preparing for his trip to Germany for the Munich Security Conference. He delivered keynote remarks on Friday, and through the weekend, he’ll participate in several panel discussions and hold a series of bilateral meetings on a range of national security issues. On Sunday, he’ll head to Vienna, Austria, to meet with China’s state councilor and minister of public health to discuss the country's work to combat the flow of fentanyl. Mayorkas has not yet addressed questions about the successful vote.
Administration officials aren’t disengaged from the impeachment fight. President Joe Biden slammed the impeachment as “petty partisan games.” And aides are monitoring it closely, often elevating Republicans who have questioned the merits of impeachment.
But the administration is also leaning on allied outside groups to poke holes in the GOP’s case against Mayorkas and echo the message coming from Pennsylvania Avenue. They believe the Mayorkas impeachment — and his public nonchalance about it — will help further the narrative carrying over from the bipartisan Senate border deal........