The Senate voted in favor of Mayorkas’s nomination on Thursday afternoon. He received support from Republican Sens. Mitt Romney from Utah, Susan Collins from Maine, Rob Portman from Ohio, Shelley Moore Captain from West Virginia and Dan Sullivan and Lisa Murkowski from Alaska.
Mayorkas, who served as deputy secretary of DHS during the Obama administration, is a Cuban lawyer and one of the main architects of the Deferred Action for Childhood Immigration program.
Biden on Tuesday is expected to announce executive actions related to immigration, including the introduction of a task force designed to bring together migrant families separated at the border by the Trump administration. Mayorkas is set to lead the task force.
Implementation of the task force was originally scheduled for Friday, but was postponed due to objections from Senate Republicans to its nomination. It is not clear whether the delay will affect the timing of Biden’s announcement.
Sabrina Rodriguez contributed to this report.