Swing-state Democrat presses Mayorkas on border security: 'step up'

Montana Democratic Sen. Jon Tester this week pressed Department of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas to take concrete steps to secure the southern border amid an ongoing surge in illegal crossings.

Tester is facing reelection in 2024 and is considered one of the prime targets for Republicans hoping to flip control of the upper chamber. The Senate is expected to receive impeachment articles against Mayorkas next week.

"All you have to see is what’s gone on at the southern border, and you know that we're in a situation that needs immediate repair, immediate fixing, immediate overhaul," he said during a Wednesday hearing of the Senate Appropriations subcommittee, according to The Hill.

"The fact is the border needs to be fixed, and we need to step up as Congress, the administration needs to step up, you need to step up," he added. "If we're able to do that, we can fix it, but it's going to take continuous due diligence on the border to make it happen."

Mayorkas has attracted considerable scrutiny from Republicans over his handling of the border, with the House approving the two impeachment articles earlier this year and accusing him of a "breach of trust" and a "willful and systemic refusal to comply with the law."

The impeachment articles were originally expected to arrive in the Senate this week, though House Speaker Mike Johnson opted to delay sending them at the request of Senate conservatives.

Ben Whedon is an editor and reporter for Just the News. Follow him on Twitter.