The Senate National Security Committee voted to advance the appointment of Alexander Mayorkas as secretary of national security, approving the full Senate vote on his confirmation.
The committee voted 7-4 to send its candidacy to the Senate floor on Tuesday, with an additional vote against the nomination cast by representation. Republican Senators Ron Johnson, James Lankford, Rick Scott, Josh Hawley and Rand Paul voted against advancing Mayorkas to a full vote in the Senate.
Mayorkas testified before the committee last week.
Johnson led the prosecution among those who filed their opposition and expressed concern over the 2015 report by a Department of Homeland Security (DHS) inspector general who found Mayorkas pushing for sun approval. Applications for a program for wealthy immigrant investors on behalf of well-connected Democrats when he served as director of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS).
“My preference would have been not to publicly air this dirty laundry. I would have hoped that President Biden would have made better sense to propose and continue with the nomination,” the outgoing president said. He later added: “I have had a good working relationship with Mr. Mayorkas as DHS’s deputy secretary and look forward to working with him in good faith if he is confirmed as secretary. I just can’t support his candidacy and would urge members to not too “.
Republican Sen. Rob Portman and Mitt Romney expressed concern over the 2015 report, but ultimately voted in favor of pushing for his upper-house candidacy.
“We have just endured a president for four years, which I will say generously, who had a relaxed relationship with the truth. And I think we want the highest level of integrity in government positions,” Romney remarked, noting that Mayorkas he acknowledged his mistakes in a private conversation and pledged to learn from them.
“That’s hard,” Portman conceded. Ultimately, the Ohio senator reasoned that Mayorkas ’fate was already sealed. “He will be confirmed. The question is how quickly he will put himself in his place,” he told colleagues, noting the importance of putting a secretary at the head of DHS after the Solar Winds cyberattack.
Upcoming Democratic President Gary Peters urged colleagues to “expedite” Mayorkas’ confirmation “as much as possible.”
“In fact, every day that this confirmation process is delayed, it puts the American people and our national security at risk because of the threats of domestic terrorism, cyberattacks and the ongoing pandemic and much more,” said Peters.
The senators wished Portman well after his announcement that he would retire from the Senate in 2022. Then Romney intervened with a laugh: “Don’t worry too much about him leaving, because he’s just organizing his campaign for the presidency.”