The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has reportedly lawyered up as Republicans threaten to take DHS secretary Alejandro Mayorkas' job.
According to a report from Politico, the DHS hired attorneys representing House Democrats in the impeachment trial of former President Trump.
The department reportedly signed a contract with New York-based law firm Debevoise & Plimpton to brief Mayorkas and administration officials on how to "handle document requests and questions from congressional investigators and to defend the department if Republicans move forward with an impeachment trial."
For months, Republicans have vowed to hold Mayorkas accountable for mishandling the southern border, causing a nationwide crisis.
The Biden Administration views Republicans' actions as a political power play.
"The Department of Homeland Security has retained outside counsel to help ensure the department's vital mission is not interrupted by the unprecedented, unjustified, and partisan impeachment efforts by some Members of Congress, who have already taken steps to initiate proceedings," the DHS said in a statement. "We do not want this to distract the secretary or the department from the important homeland security, national security work that we do day to day… we are protecting the country from terrorist attacks by air, by sea. We are protecting the country from cybersecurity attacks. We are securing the borders."
Per the report, the DHS will pay all the legal fees, which could cost up to $3 million. However, the agency claimed that they were an appropriate use of government funds given the unprecedented nature of the situation.
While Mayorkas has been in office, the southern border has seen a record number of illegal migrant encounters, with more than 2.3 million crossing into the U.S. during the fiscal year 2022 alone.
In a statement, Mayorkas said that he continues to work alongside the DHS to combat the border crisis, claiming they "are doing everything that we can to increase its efficiency, to provide humanitarian relief when the law permits, and also to deliver an enforcement consequence when the law dictates."
Join the conversation as a VIP Member