The House on Monday voted to refer a resolution to impeach Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas to the House Homeland Security Committee.
The final vote was 209-201, with eight Republicans voting with Democrats.
The move was a late stage shift by Democrats to not try and outright kill the resolution, but allow the committee of jurisdiction to continue their existing investigation.
GOP Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia filed a privileged resolution to impeach Mayorkas last week, forcing GOP leadership to schedule floor action on the measure by Tuesday.
Since retaking the House majority, Republicans have long sought to impeach Mayorkas over his handling of the Department of Homeland Security and the US border with Mexico. Greene’s latest move comes as Republicans have been pushing for stricter border security provisions in any supplemental aid package.
A DHS spokesperson criticized the effort in a statement Monday, calling on Congress to “stop wasting time” and instead focus on funding the government, immigration system reform, and passing President Joe Biden’s supplemental national security funding request, among other priorities.
“Secretary Mayorkas continues to be laser-focused on the safety and security of our nation,” the spokesperson said. “This baseless attack is completely without merit and a harmful distraction from our critical national security priorities.”
This story has been updated with additional information.
CNN’s Melanie Zanona contributed to this report.
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