Biden's minister was acquitted in the accusation

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Alejandro Mayorkas, the US Secretary of Homeland Security, was acquitted in his impeachment trial, which lasted only a short half-day session in the Senate.

After three hours of discussion, the chamber voted on Wednesday evening to drop the two charges against Alejandro Mayorkas.

He has been accused partly of not following US immigration legislation in the event of a record number of migrants arriving at the border, and partly of making misleading statements about the security situation at the border.

Republicans have long called for tighter border security and a tougher crackdown on illegal immigration, so they took the unusual step of impeaching Mayorkas. It was alleged that he “deliberately and systematically” failed to keep the border with Mexico secure.

Republicans in the House of Representatives actually voted last February to impeach the minister, although it took two votes to pass the proposal.

In the Senate, a two-thirds majority was needed to remove Mayorkas, but the House, where Democrats hold the majority, voted along party lines.

The White House announced through its spokesman, Ian Sams, that it welcomed the decision and that “President Biden and Secretary Mayorkas will continue to do their work to keep the United States safe and implement real measures at the border.”

Until this year, no formal impeachment charges had been brought against a minister who had been in office for nearly 150 years. Democratic politicians described the impeachment proceedings as a stunt by Republicans who follow Donald Trump.

The former president is the only US president to be impeached twice and the only president to be impeached after leaving the White House.