Republican Senate candidates in battleground races are armed with fresh ammunition against incumbent Democrats, vowing not to let voters forget who kept Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas in office.
Hoping to put what they assail as a “political stunt” behind them, those Democrats say the onus is on the GOP to work with them on southern border legislation rather than on the Biden administration to use existing authority that Republicans accuse it of undermining.
Two articles against Mr. Mayorkas’ handling of illegal immigration and the southern border were dismissed as unconstitutional Wednesday on a party-line vote during a roughly three-hour process that did not include a full trial.
In one of this cycle’s most closely watched races, Democratic Sen. Jon Tester of Montana quickly distanced himself from the administration after voting to toss the charges.
He urged Mr. Mayorkas and President Biden to “use their remaining executive authorities to help secure our border” and also for Congress to pass legislation.
“What’s happened at our southern border is completely unacceptable, and the Biden administration must do more to keep Montana and our country safe. Montanans want real solutions that secure the border, not partisan games from D.C. politicians,” Mr. Tester said in a statement.
SEE ALSO: Mayorkas says he never read articles of impeachment
“I agree with my Republican colleagues who have said this exercise is a distraction that fails to make our country safer,” he said.
Tim Sheehy, Mr. Tester’s Republican challenger, used the newly adopted GOP moniker of “two-faced Tester” to whack the Democrat.
“He couldn’t care less about securing our border!” Mr. Sheehy posted on social media. “Actions matter, and Tester’s long history of putting illegals first and America last will be his demise in November!”
The man in charge of getting Senate Democrats elected this fall, Sen. Gary Peters of Michigan, said Republicans “are showing themselves only capable of throwing rocks and not working in a bipartisan way to find real solutions.”
As evidence, he pointed to the Senate immigration deal Democrats had struck earlier this year with a few GOP senators but that Republicans in both chambers quickly turned against.
Mr. Peters briefly spoke to The Washington Times on Thursday during a break from chairing a Senate Homeland Security Committee hearing with Mr. Mayorkas about the department’s 2025 budget request.
During the proceedings, the Biden Cabinet member drew rebuke from GOP senators after admitting he never read the impeachment articles against him.
It also was revealed at the hearing that DHS released the illegal immigrant accused of killing Laken Riley into the U.S. because it lacked the detention space, according to his confidential immigration file made public by Sen. Josh Hawley, Missouri Republican.
Democrats voting in lockstep to dismiss the articles gave GOP challengers a new opening to accuse incumbents of enabling a record surge into the U.S. of illegal migration, violent criminal acts and drugs.
Eric Hovde, the Republican opponent of Democratic Sen. Tammy Baldwin of Wisconsin, vowed to “hold her accountable this November” for finding “acceptable” Mr. Mayorkas’ “horrible record of keeping our country safe.”
Ms. Baldwin responded by advocating for the Senate’s failed border security bill.
“What Wisconsinites need is action on our southern border, and there was a bipartisan proposal,” she told The Times. “That’s what we should be spending our time with.”
— Stephen Dinan contributed to this report.
• Ramsey Touchberry can be reached at rtouchberry@washingtontimes.com.
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