Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas appeared before lawmakers on Capitol Hill Wednesday as Congress considers 2025 budget requests from the executive branch, and Senator John Kennedy (R-LA) was ready to go when his time to ask the impeached Biden administration official some questions.
"It gives me no joy to say this, but most Republicans don't trust you," Sen. Kennedy said to Mayorkas. "A vast majority of the American people don't trust you — that's why you've been impeached," he reminded.
"Now, my Democratic colleagues are going to try and sweep your impeachment under the rug and violate 200 years of Senate precedent in doing it," continued Sen. Kennedy, referring to Senate Democrats' attempts to avoid proceeding with an official trial for Mayorkas following the House's impeachment of the DHS secretary. Acknowledging that his upper chamber colleagues across the aisle may succeed in sweeping the trial under the proverbial rug, Kennedy reminded that they still wouldn't succeed in hiding the larger issue of the Biden administration's self-inflicted border crisis.
"Again, it gives me no joy in saying this: I think well more than a majority of the American people think that as a result of your behavior and President Biden's behavior, our southern border is an open bleeding wound," Kennedy continued in his review of Mayorkas' dereliction of duty as the secretary squirmed in his seat. "I think they believe that our southern border is chaotic; I think a vast majority of the American people believe that a lot of it is political; I think a vast majority of the American people believe that it is chaotic by design and that all of this is intentional," he summarized.
"I think that a vast majority of the American people who don't trust you believe in legal immigration," noted Sen. Kennedy. "They don't believe in illegal immigration, and they think you do, and they think President Biden does — and they think that's why the border is open." Referring to the Biden administration's attempts to deny any crisis existed at the border only to reverse their position and say there are problems but there's nothing the president or DHS can do, Sen. Kennedy explained that many Americans think Mayorkas and Biden believe Americans are "stupid enough" to believe them when they say it's not their problem.
A majority of the American people think that, as a result of Sec. Mayorkas and Pres. Biden's behavior, our southern border is an open bleeding wound.
— John Kennedy (@SenJohnKennedy) April 10, 2024
And they believe that this chaos is by design. pic.twitter.com/DerI7wR9kB
"Isn't it a fact, Mr. Secretary, that the number of illegal immigrants that you and the president allow into our country counts for congressional district reapportionment?" Sen. Kennedy asked.
Mayorkas played the part of the know-nothing. "Senator, I'm not sure I understand your question — but I can surely share with you that I disagree with its phrasing," came his reply.
"Isn't it true, Mr. Secretary, that the number of illegal immigrants that you and President Biden have allowed into our country counts toward allocating electoral votes?" Sen. Kennedy asked as a follow-up.
"I- same answer," stammered Mayorkas.
"You don't know?" Sen. Kennedy pressed.
"I don't understand your question," came Mayorkas' reply — but surely he did.
"It never crossed your mind?" queried Sen. Kennedy.
"The notion, Senator, that we intend to allow illegal immigration is nothing short of preposterous," Mayorkas began.
"So you do understand my question," Sen. Kennedy interjected as Mayorkas proved he did know exactly what the Louisiana Republican was asking — and that Sen. Kennedy was correct.
"It is disrespectful to the extraordinarily hard work that we perform and far more importantly that the personnel in the Department of Homeland Security — and in this administration — to stem illegal immigration, building lawful, safe, and orderly pathways, and invest in a working system," Mayorkas whined while keeping up the Biden administration's act of pretending to be taking the border crisis seriously while actively seeking to make it worse.
Sen. Kennedy was having none of it.
"Mr. Secretary, you're using up my time — you do this every single time," Sen. Kennedy pointed out. "It's a fact and I know it: that the more people you allow into our country illegally the more people are counted for reapportionment, and the more people that you allow into our country illegally the more people are counted for allocating electoral votes," he reiterated. "Now maybe that's a coincidence, but that's fact. You know that, and you've done nothing for four years: nada, zero, zilch."
Sen. Kennedy still wasn't done. "The only people I know in this country who are better off today than they were four years ago are illegal immigrants," he noted. "And that's as a result of your policy. I don't hate you for it, I don't hate anyone, but that's why you've been impeached," Sen. Kennedy reminded. "And my colleagues may try to cover it up, but they can't cover up the facts."
As usual, Sen. Kennedy is exactly right. Townhall has previously discussed how President Biden, with an executive order issued on day one of his presidency, ensures illegal aliens in the U.S. are counted in the decennial census. That means Democrat-run sanctuary states are counting larger populations which, unless Biden's edict is reversed, will give their Democrat electorates more representation in Congress and therefore more votes in the Electoral College.