Senate prepares to approve DHS Sec.; Sen. Cruz claims candidate has ‘disregard for the rule of law’

President Joe Biden’s pick to lead the Department of Homeland Security is heading for final Senate confirmation, over the objections of some Republicans who have raised concerns about a 2015 inspector general’s report on actions taken by Alejandro Mayorkas while he was then head of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services.

Thursday morning, the Senate voted on what is called a cloture motion to end debate regarding Mayorkas nomination, after hearings last week, setting up his confirmation vote for Monday. The motion to limit debate passed 55-42.

A short time later, Senator Ted Cruz publicly shared a letter written to his Congressional colleagues urging them to oppose Mayorkas’ confirmation.

“Mr. Mayorkas has shown a repeated disregard for the rule of law,” Cruz alleges in the letter.

In the letter, Cruz brings up the 2015 report, which looked at how Mayorkas intervened in the EB-5 visa program process in a questionable way for wealthy investors. The report found Mayorkas did not break any laws, but had created the appearance of “special access,” according to the Washington Post.

Cruz also brought up a senate vote in 2013 to make Mayorkas the Deputy Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security, in which no Republican supported him.

Earlier this week, Senator Josh Hawley had moved to block the fast-track nomination process of Mayorkas, saying he was not satisfied with his responses to questions.

During comments made Thursday morning before the vote to move Mayorkas’ approval forward, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said that disagreeing with a nominee’s views on some policy issues was not a sufficient reason to oppose a nomination for a position as important as Homeland Security, according to the Washington Post.