Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas on Friday said he won’t be swayed by the biting criticism he’s taken from Republicans on Capitol Hill in recent weeks, saying he’s “impervious to them.”
He said he’s fueled by self-assurance in how he’s doing his job.
“Fundamentally, I am impervious to them because I may make some mistakes but — my decisions may be mistaken, some may disagree with them — but I have 100% confidence in the integrity of my decision-making,” the secretary told the Council on Foreign Relations.
This week alone, at two hearings on Capitol Hill, he was labeled a liar, accused of lying under oath to Congress about border security, and was asked whether he felt responsible for “graveyards filled” with dead migrants, illegal immigrant children forced into labor or Americans who have died from fentanyl that is pouring across the southern border.
“You’ve brought generational trauma upon our country,” said Rep. Clay Higgins, Louisiana Republican.
Several lawmakers even attacked his appearance and demeanor.
“You just sit there looking with a blank look on your face,” said Sen. Ron Johnson, Wisconsin Republican.
Mr. Mayorkas, while pushing back on some of the facts in Republicans’ questions, usually said he wouldn’t dignify their attacks with a response.
But on Friday, during a question-and-answer session at the Council on Foreign Relations, he was asked how he personally felt.
“They are not easy to listen to,” he said. “They also have ramifications that I wish individuals in positions of leadership would consider.”
He said that includes his workforce and the people it encounters.
Mr. Mayorkas in 2021 graded himself an A for effort on border security.
But this week he declined to issue a letter grade, instead saying he was working hard on an intractable problem.
That didn’t sit well with Sen. Mitt Romney, Utah Republican.
“It’s an F. It’s clearly an F,” he said.
• Stephen Dinan can be reached at sdinan@washingtontimes.com.
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