McCarthy demands resignation of DHS chief Mayorkas, says investigations await if he remains at post
Michael Mayorkas was the deputy secretary of Homeland Security, the highest-ranking civilian in the top U.S. government department, until he was removed from office on Wednesday as part of an ongoing federal probe into what happened during President Donald Trump’s first months in office.
Trump said Thursday that he has asked the inspector general to look into whether Mayorkas had improperly disclosed classified information on intelligence reports.
Trump said that the inspector general would look at whether he had given classified information to Mayorkas, because he wants to know “what happened” as he was taking office.
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The president later asked that Rep. Mike McCaul, R-Texas, the top Republican on the House Homeland Security Committee, be briefed on the “ongoing investigation” into allegations that Mayorkas improperly disclosed classified information.
Trump has been under fire in recent weeks for numerous allegations of insider trading and insider trading violations in his Trump International Hotel in Washington, D.C.
On May 11, Mayorkas told Trump that he was retiring from Homeland Security, and on May 17 Trump announced Mayorkas’s termination. The president said he had already decided it was time for Mayorkas to retire.
But Trump also said he was putting in a request in for an investigation into Mayorkas to determine whether Trump had improperly disclosed classified information to him.
Trump said he told Mayorkas that, “I am calling the head of the inspector general’s office to ask for an investigation into your handling of the classified information you received from me as deputy secretary.”
The president also revealed that he had removed Mayorkas from the Cabinet, and had asked McCaul to appoint a “good patriot” to fill the position.
“I also want to thank Mike who really cares about