What's really behind Kevin McCarthy's push to impeach Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas?

Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif)
(Image credit: Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Image)

As Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) struggles to achieve detente between the fractious wings of his caucus, the House minority leader and aspiring speaker visited El Paso, Texas, this week to offer a glimpse of what to expect from the incoming Republican congressional majority he hopes to lead: aggressive action against the Biden administration's immigration policies — and in particular, against Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas.

"His actions have produced the great wave of illegal immigration in recorded history," McCarthy said during a press conference along the U.S.-Mexico border on Tuesday. "This is why today I am calling on the secretary to resign."

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Rafi Schwartz, The Week US

Rafi Schwartz has worked as a politics writer at The Week since 2022, where he covers elections, Congress and the White House. He was previously a contributing writer with Mic focusing largely on politics, a senior writer with Splinter News, a staff writer for Fusion's news lab, and the managing editor of Heeb Magazine, a Jewish life and culture publication. Rafi's work has appeared in Rolling Stone, GOOD and The Forward, among others.