Arizona Rep. Debbie Lesko calls on Alejandro Mayorkas to resign

Rep. Debbie Lesko (R-Ariz.) called on Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas to resign Friday and warned that if he refuses, he will face a House investigation.

The message from the border state legislature comes days after House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) vowed to open an investigation in the Republican-controlled House of Representatives next year to determine whether Mayorkas should be indicted.

“I’m glad he gave Mayorkas an ultimatum: either resign or we will investigate and see if it leads to impeachment,” Lesko said on Fox News, referring to McCarthy’s comments earlier this week.

“Personally, I signed a law to indict Mayorkas. Before that, I signed the legislation for him to resign and I signed letters asking him to resign,” Lesko added.

Lesko, a member of the House Border Security Caucus, went on to accuse the DHS chief of lying to Congress about the southern border situation.

“We had written him a letter saying he should resign. And he keeps lying: He keeps telling us the border is safe,” Lesko said. “He said that again recently at a hearing in the House of Representatives. And it’s not safe. Everyone knows that. Even illegal immigrants know that.”

Last week, Mayorkas told the House Homeland Security Committee that the border was secure and that DHS was “working to improve security every day”.

Two days later, he admitted before the Senate Homeland Security Committee that his agency “sees a significant challenge at the southern border” and that “the entire hemisphere is suffering from a migration crisis.”

Lesko joins a growing chorus of Republicans calling for Mayorkas’ resignation and vowing to “hold him accountable” for the border crisis if he doesn’t resign.

“We will use the power of the purse and the power of the subpoena. Let me make it clear that those responsible for this disaster will be held accountable,” McCarthy said Tuesday during a visit to the Texas-Mexico border.

Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH), who would chair the House Judiciary Committee next year and oversee the impeachment trial against Mayorkas if one comes about, released a statement backing McCarthy’s threat.

“Leader McCarthy is right. Americans deserve responsibility for the unprecedented crisis on the Southwest border. Republicans will hold Secretary Mayorkas accountable for his failure to enforce immigration law and secure the border by any means necessary,” Jordan wrote.

The nearly 2.4 million southern border crossings recorded in the 12 months ended Sept. 30 were the highest on record.