Senate confirms Alejandro Mayorkas as Homeland Security secretary

[BumRushDaShow]

Source: Washington Post




The U.S. Senate confirmed Alejandro Mayorkas as secretary of the Department of Homeland Security Tuesday in a 56 to 43 vote that broke largely along party lines, ending what has been the most contentious confirmation process of Biden’s cabinet picks. Mayorkas, 61, is the son of Jewish refugees from Cuba who goes by the nickname “Ali.” A former federal prosecutor in Los Angeles, Mayorkas served as a top DHS official during the Obama administration and played a key role in the creation of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program known as DACA.

“Mr. Mayorkas’ qualifications are unassailable: he is a seven-year veteran of the DHS and has already been confirmed by this chamber three — three — times,” Senate Majority Leader Charles E. Schumer (D-NY) said in a statement before the vote. “Like most of President Biden’s cabinet nominees, his nomination is also history-making: he will be the first Latino and first immigrant to hold the top job at DHS.”

Six GOP members voted with the Democrats: Romney (Utah), Collins (Maine), Murkowski (Alaska), Portman (Ohio), Capito (West Virginia) and Sullivan (Alaska).

DHS has not had a Senate-confirmed secretary since April 2019, when President Trump ousted Kirstjen Nielsen and allowed the department to drift through a period of unprecedented leadership turnover. Some of the Republican senators who joined Democrats in voting to confirm Mayorkas have said they wanted to see DHS stabilized without further delay.

Read more: https://www.washingtonpost.com/national/senate-confirms-alejandro-mayorkas-as-homeland-security-secretary/2021/02/02/6297f98e-64d6-11eb-bf81-c618c88ed605_story.html

[still_one]

1. Finally

[BumRushDaShow]

2. This is a Department that really needed a confirmed Secretary in place

given the insurrection issue and the Secret Service (which is under their purview).

[still_one]

4. I know

[onetexan]

9. In deed, thank Goodness

[frazzled]

3. I guess

As if gay weren’t bad enough (13 Republicans against), Jewish and Cuban together was a line too far to cross (43 Republicans against).

[drray23]

7. Yeap. I was about to post that.

How much of a coincidence is it that they are blocking this guy when everybody else sailed past ?

[ancianita]

6. These six

Romney (Utah), Collins (Maine), Murkowski (Alaska), Portman (Ohio), Capito (West Virginia) and Sullivan (Alaska), who've voted with Dems on confirmations, can be the revivalist caucus of the Republican Party who can get nine more to vote guilty at the impeachment trial vote.

These eight could convince them that loyalty to Constitution over one person could free them up to get many more Republican voters who want a viable party again over culters who would leave.

Capito WV [phone]
Collins ME [phone]
Murkowski AK [phone]
Portman OH [phone]
Romney UT [phone]
Sasse NE [phone]
Sullivan AK [phone]
Toomey PA [phone]

Today the vote was about Homeland Security, not just Mayorkas.
Six days from now, 17 could make the vote about country over the he who should not be named.

[BumRushDaShow]

8. Toomey was listed as a "Not Voting" for both Buttigieg and this nomination today

https://www.senate.gov/legislative/LIS/roll_call_lists/roll_call_vote_cfm.cfm?congress=117&session=1&vote=00011
https://www.senate.gov/legislative/LIS/roll_call_lists/roll_call_vote_cfm.cfm?congress=117&session=1&vote=00012

He's not running again in 2022 and I wouldn't trust him as far as I can throw him.

[ancianita]

10. I saw.

I'm with you. I don't trust any of them. Just trying to be pragmatic about our chances. But not hopeful at all. No matter what, phone call opinion pressure can't hurt.

The main thing, to me, is that the managers lay out the facts of the funders, planners, coordinators, and inciters, bearing down hard on Trump through all of it. Senate Repubs already know the FBI's got the incited, and what will happen to them. They already know how they're going to vote. But the nation should see the factual intelligence of good prosecution no matter the closed minds of the Republicans. My only hope is that this trial is a more dramatically compelling one with witnesses and media use, from the first solid and eloquent impeachment managers' presentation.

No matter the outcome, the Congressional Record and history will acquit our constitutional side and condemn their cult loyalty side.

We've got two years. If we work them well, we'll have another 2018 wave.