WASHINGTON – The House sent two articles of impeachment against Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas to the Senate on Tuesday, forcing a trial over allegations that he “willfully and systematically” refused to implement immigration laws.
Although impeachment rules require the Senate to carry a trial once the fees are filed on the Capitol, the trial may not last long. Democrats are expected to attempt to dismiss or table the fees later this week before full debate gets underway.
After submitting the articles to the Senate, Republican prosecutors appointed by House Speaker Mike Johnson stood within the Senate. The Senate sergeant-at-arms, the chamber's top security official, called the meeting to order with a “Listen!” Hear!” and a note that “all persons are required to remain silent on pain of imprisonment.”
House Homeland Security Committee Chairman Mark Green, a Tennessee Republican and one in all the impeachment managers, read the articles aloud while most senators were of their seats, and followed them with their very own paper copies.
Republicans have argued that there must be a full trial. As Johnson signed the articles to go through the Capitol on Monday, he said Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer should convene a trial to “hold accountable those who brought about this crisis.”
Schumer “is the only obstacle to holding ourselves accountable to the American people,” Johnson said. “Under the Constitution, the House of Representatives demands a trial.”
After the ceremonial procession and the presentation of the articles on Tuesday, the trial doesn’t begin until Wednesday. Senators are sworn in as jurors, turning the chamber into an impeachment court. The Senate will then subpoena Mayorkas to tell him of the allegations and ask for a written response. He won't should appear.
The entire process was accomplished inside a number of hours on Wednesday. Majority Democrats have said the Republicans' case against Mayorkas doesn’t include the “high crimes and misdemeanors” set forth within the Constitution as a bar to impeachment, and Schumer likely has enough votes to finish the trial immediately if he does decides to accomplish that.
Schumer said he desired to “address this issue as quickly as possible.”
“Impeachment should never be used to resolve a political disagreement,” Schumer said. “That would set a terrible precedent for Congress.”
The House narrowly voted in February to question Mayorkas over his handling of the U.S.-Mexico border. House Republicans accused Mayorkas in two articles of impeachment not only of refusing to implement the law but additionally of violating the general public trust by lying to Congress and claiming the border was secure. It was the primary time in nearly 150 years that a Cabinet secretary had been indicted.
Since then, Johnson has delayed sending the articles to the Senate for weeks while each chambers accomplished their work on government funding laws and took a two-week recess. Johnson had said last week he would send it to the Senate, but he backpedaled again after Senate Republicans said they wanted more time to organize.
South Dakota Sen. John Thune, the No. 2 Republican within the Senate, said the Senate must hold a full trial during which it could possibly examine the evidence against Mayorkas and reach a conclusion.
“This is an absolute debacle at the southern border,” Thune said. “It is a national security crisis. There has to be accountability.”
At a hearing with Mayorkas Tuesday morning on President Joe Biden's budget request for the department, House impeachment managers gave an outline of a few of their arguments.
Green, chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee, told the secretary that he had an obligation under law to manage and guard U.S. borders and “during your three years as secretary, you have failed to fulfill that oath.” have refused to comply with the laws passed by Congress and have violated the general public trust.”
Mayorkas defended the department's efforts but said the country's immigration system is “fundamentally broken and only Congress can fix it.”
Other impeachment managers include Michael McCaul of Texas, Andy Biggs of Arizona, Ben Cline of Virginia, Andrew Garbarino of New York, Michael Guest of Mississippi, Harriet Hageman of Wyoming, Clay Higgins of Louisiana, Laurel Lee of Florida, August Plfuger of Texas and Marjorie Taylor Greene from Georgia.
Exactly how the Democrats will proceed on Wednesday continues to be unclear. In general, impeachment rules allow the Senate majority to make your mind up how the trial can be conducted, and Schumer hasn't said exactly what he’ll do.
After the jury is sworn in, Senate Republicans will likely try to boost a variety of objections if Schumer calls a vote to dismiss or file, an try and each protest and delay the move. But ultimately they will't block a firing if a majority of Democrats have the votes.
Some Republicans have said they would really like time to debate whether Mayorkas must be impeached, though debates aren’t typically included in impeachment proceedings. Negotiations have been ongoing between the 2 parties over whether to permit Schumer that point and provides senators from each parties a probability to debate the impeachment before it’s dismissed.
While most Republicans oppose a fast dismissal, some have suggested they could vote with Democrats.
Sen. Mitt Romney, R-Utah, said last week he wasn't sure what he would do if there was an try and stop the trial. “I think it is virtually certain that there will be no conviction if the constitutional test is not met,” he said.
At the identical time, Romney said he desired to no less than express his opinion that “Mayorkas has done a terrible job, but he is following the president's orders and has failed the constitutional test of a high crime or misdemeanor.”
In any case, Republicans can be unable to win the support of the two-thirds of the Senate needed to convict and take away Mayorkas from office. Democrats control the Senate 51-49 and look like united against the impeachment effort. Not a single Democrat within the House of Representatives supported it either.
Sen. Sherrod Brown, a Democrat facing a tricky re-election in Ohio, called the impeachment trial a “distraction” and argued that Republicans should as a substitute support a bipartisan border compromise that they thwarted earlier this yr.
“Instead of pursuing this impeachment trial – the first in 100 years – why don’t we reach a bipartisan border agreement?” he said.
If the Senate begins impeachment proceedings, it might be the third in five years. Democrats have impeached President Donald Trump twice, once over his dealings with Ukraine and again in the times following the attack on the Capitol on January 6, 2021. Trump was acquitted by the Senate each times.
At a trial, senators can be forced to take a seat of their seats for a time period, perhaps weeks, while the House impeachment managers and lawyers representing Mayorkas argue their cases. By decision of the Senate, it’s also possible to call witnesses and ask inquiries to each side after the opening statements have concluded.
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