The Senate voted Thursday afternoon to proceed with the appointment of Mayorkas. He received support from Republican Sens. Mitt Romney from Utah, Susan Collins from Maine, Rob Portman from Ohio, Shelley Moore Capito from West Virginia, and Dan Sullivan and Lisa Murkowski from Alaska.
Mayorkas, who served as DHS deputy secretary during the Obama administration, is a Cuban-born attorney and one of the main architects of the Immigration Program for Deferred Action for Children’s Arrivals.
Biden will announce immigration-related executive actions on Tuesday, including the introduction of a task force aimed at reuniting migrant families separated at the border by the Trump administration. Mayorkas will lead the task force.
The task force’s rollout was originally scheduled for Friday, but was delayed due to objections from Senate Republicans to his nomination. It is unclear whether the delay will affect the timing of Biden’s announcement.
Sabrina Rodriguez contributed to this report.