Cruz: Democrats destroyed ‘two centuries of precedent’ by rejecting Mayorkas’ articles of impeachment

Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) criticized Democrats in the Upper House for rejecting two articles of impeachment against Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas on Wednesday, claiming they set more than two centuries of “precedent” in the Senate .

“Yesterday, Chuck Schumer threw more than two centuries of precedent in the United States Senate out the window,” Cruz wrote in a post on X Thursday. “He deprived the Senate of the right to hold an impeachment trial. Democrats don’t care about the Constitution or the rule of law.”

The Democratic-majority Senate on Wednesday struck out two articles of impeachment against Mayorkas, voting largely along party lines 51 to 49 to do so just hours after proceedings began. The vote marked the first time in 225 years that the Senate voted to immediately dismiss House-approved impeachment charges, rather than holding a full trial or referring the matter to a special committee for review.

Cruz, speaking on NewsMax, highlighted that in the 22 times the House has introduced articles of impeachment against an individual, the Senate has conducted a trial in each instance, except in cases where the individual has died or left office.

“That was the continuing precedent for 200 years until yesterday, when all the Democrats decided that they were not going to do their constitutional duty, they were not going to allow a trial to take place. They have not heard any evidence and instead have simply decided from the outset that we are not going to consider the matter,” he said.

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (DN.Y.) argued that a trial was not necessary because the House sent “the least legitimate, least substantive, and most politicized impeachment trial ever in the history of the United States.” .

Cruz tried to block Schumer’s decision to dismiss the charges by offering a motion to send the Senate into a closed session to debate the constitutionality of impeachment, but Democrats rejected it.

Republicans have long sought impeachment to clarify the Biden administration’s record on immigration and border security. The House articles accused Mayorkas of violating immigration laws as well as “breach of public trust,” arguing that he violated his oath of office.