{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["http://www.leahy.senate.gov/press/leahy-hails-confirmation-of-mayorkas-to-top-dhs-position", "Leahy Hails Confirmation Of Mayorkas To Top DHS Position", "2013-12-20", "2013", "2013-12", "Democrat", "House", "VT", "Patrick Leahy", "L000174", "www.leahy.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "12.20.13\n\t\t\t Leahy Hails Confirmation Of Mayorkas To Top DHS Position \n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t \n\t\t\n\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\n        \n\t\t\t\t Mayorkas To Fill No. 2 Spot At Department\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t WASHINGTON (Friday, December 20, 2013) \u2013Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) hailed the Senate\u2019s vote Friday to confirm Alejandro Mayorkas to serve as Deputy Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security. The position has been without a Senate-confirmed leader since April.\r\n\u201cThe Department of Homeland Security is the leading agency for some of the most pressing issues facing our Nation, from providing disaster relief to protecting our borders,\u201d said Leahy, who spoke on the floor in favor of the nomination Friday.\u00a0 \u201cTo serve the American people, this agency needs a full complement of leaders. With the Senate\u2019s action today, the Department now has in place its most important leaders in Alejandro Mayorkas and Jeh Johnson.\u201d\r\nLeahy, who earlier this year shepherded consideration of comprehensive immigration reform through the Senate, also hailed Mayorkas\u2019 leadership of the EB-5 Regional Center Program while serving as Director of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), and he blasted the Department\u2019s inspector general for conducting a deeply mismanaged review of the program and of Mayorkas.\u00a0\u00a0\r\n\u201cIt is unfortunate that Director Mayorkas\u2019 nomination has been the subject of unfair and partisan attacks, and it is wrong that some tried to create controversy about Director Mayorkas even before his confirmation hearing occurred in the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee,\u201d Leahy said.\u00a0 \u201cThe attacks mounted against Director Mayorkas are made even less credible by the conduct of the former DHS Deputy Inspector General, who was forced to resign in the face of allegations of serious misconduct.\u201d\r\n# # # # #\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t Press Contact \n\t\t\t\tPress Contact  David Carle: 202-224-3693\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\n\t  \n\t\n\t\n\t\n  \n\t\n    \n    \n    \n    \n    \n    \t\n    \t\n\t    \t  \n\t\t    \n\t\t    \tNext Article\n\t\t    \n\t\t    \n\t\t    \tPrevious Article", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["http://www.leahy.senate.gov/press/leahy-hails-confirmation-of-mayorkas-to-top-dhs-position"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 1.4919782988727093, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}