US House speaker Mike Johnson has defended the Republican vote to impeach Alejandro Mayorkas, suggesting “desperate times call for desperate measures”. Many Republicans blame Mr Mayorkas for an unprecedented influx of migrants at the US-Mexico border, and he is the first cabinet member to face impeachment in nearly 150 years. The vote succeeded along party lines lines, winning 214-213. “We had to do that,” Speaker Johnson said during a weekly press conference of Republican leadership on Wednesday 14 February. “He has abdicated his responsibility, he’s breached the public trust, and he’s disregarded the laws Congress has passed.”