Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas said Thursday it is “unfair” for a Republican congressman to ask why Vice President Kamala Harris laughed when asked whether she would go to see the border surge.
Rep. Ralph Norman, South Carolina Republican, led off by asking Mr. Mayorkas whether he had in-person visits for his health checkups — a question the secretary bristled at — then wondered why neither President Biden nor Ms. Harris has gone for an in-person visit to do a checkup on the border.
“I consider that question to be quite unfair,” Mr. Mayorkas said.
Ms. Harris has laughed on two separate occasions, in March and again earlier this month, when asked about plans to visit the border. Each time she tried to deflect the question with a quip.
She has been tapped by Mr. Biden to oversee efforts to stem the flow of illegal immigrants to the border, but she has said her purview begins south of the boundary, which is one reason why she doesn’t need to see the actual ground zero.
Mr. Mayorkas, in testimony Thursday to the House Homeland Security Committee, tried to direct the criticism away from Ms. Harris, saying she and Mr. Biden know that’s his job.
“It’s my responsibility to manage the border,” he said.
Mr. Mayorkas added: “The vice president served as attorney general of a border state, California, and is quite familiar with the situation on the border.”
• Stephen Dinan can be reached at sdinan@washingtontimes.com.
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