Politico reported Friday that the Department of Homeland Security has recruited attorneys from a company that previously represented House Democrats in the impeachment trial of then-President Donald Trump to defend the agency’s secretary, Alejandro Mayorkas.

According to Politico, DHS has inked a contract with Debevoise & Plimpton, a firm that attorneys assisted House Democrats in 2020 with their case for impeaching Trump, to assist Mayorkas as House Republicans try to impeach the secretary.

Over months, House Republicans have suggested that they want to impeach Mayorkas for his handling of the border situation.

As the new majority assumed control of the House, many House Republicans, including Reps. Pat Fallon of Texas and Andy Biggs of Arizona, filed articles of impeachment.

In November, then-House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy threatened Mayorkas with impeachment if he did not quit.

“The Department of Homeland Security has retained outside counsel to help ensure the department’s vital mission is not interrupted by the unprecedented, unjustified, and partisan impeachment efforts by some Members of Congress, who have already taken steps to initiate proceedings,” a DHS representative said in a statement, according to Politico.

“We do not want this to distract the secretary or the department from the important homeland security, national security work that we do day to day,” a DHS official also told the outlet. “We are protecting the country from terrorist attacks by air, by sea. We are protecting the country from cybersecurity attacks. We are securing the borders.”

Debevoise & Plimpton did not respond to a request for comment.

DHS has supervised record rises in illegal immigration along the southern border under Mayorkas’ tenure, with the agency recording more than 2.3 million migrant interactions in fiscal year 2022.

“Everyone agrees that the immigration system has been terribly broken and outdated for decades. It is my hope that Congress takes that problem and fixes it once and for all,” Mayorkas said in a statement to Politico.

“In the meantime, within a broken system, we are doing everything that we can to increase its efficiency, to provide humanitarian relief when the law permits, and to also deliver an enforcement consequence when the law dictates,” he said.

People from around the world continue crossing illegally at the southern border. Here in the RGV, we’ve seen several Chinese nationals cross in recent days. CBP contact in Eagle Pass tells me they’ve seen 5 Chinese, 3 Yemeni, 4 from African countries in last two days. @FoxNews

— Bill Melugin (@BillFOXLA) February 6, 2023

“That is exactly what we are doing, and I will continue to do that with tremendous pride alongside the incredible workforce at DHS,” Mayorkas said.