WASHINGTON – Senate Democrats could end the impeachment trial of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas on Wednesday before arguments even begin.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer is expected to call votes to dismiss two articles of impeachment against Mayorkas after senators are sworn in as jurors at noon, a move that could derail the trial and frustrate Republicans who have demanded so the House prosecutors could present their case. Democrats appear to be united in their opposition to moving forward.
The House narrowly voted in February to impeach Mayorkas over his handling of the U.S.-Mexico border, arguing in both articles that he “deliberately and systematically” refused to enforce immigration laws. House impeachment managers appointed by House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., delivered the charges to the Senate on Tuesday, standing in the Senate well and reading them aloud to a captive audience of senators.
The entire process can be done in a few hours on Wednesday. Most Democrats have said the GOP case against Mayorkas falls short of the “high crimes and misdemeanors” set as a bar for impeachment in the Constitution, and Schumer likely has enough votes to end the trial immediately if he chooses to do so.
Schumer said he wants to “resolve this issue as quickly as possible.”
“Impeachment should never be used to resolve a political disagreement,” Schumer said. “That would set a horrible precedent for Congress.”
As Johnson signed the articles on Monday, preparing to send them to Capitol Hill, he said Schumer should call a trial to “hold fully accountable those who engineered this crisis.”
Schumer “is the only impediment to accountability to the American people,” Johnson said. “According to the Constitution, the Chamber demands a trial.”
Once senators are sworn in on Wednesday, the chamber will become the impeachment court, presided over by Democratic Sen. Patty Murray of Washington. Murray is the president pro tempore of the Senate, or the most senior member of the majority party who replaces the vice president.
Exactly how Democrats will proceed Wednesday remains unclear. Impeachment rules generally allow the Senate majority to decide how to conduct the trial, and Schumer has not said exactly what he will do.
Senate Republicans will likely try to raise a range of objections if Schumer calls votes to dismiss or delay. But ultimately, they cannot prevent an impeachment if a majority of Democrats have the votes.
Either way, Republicans would be unable to gain the support of the two-thirds of the Senate needed to convict and remove Mayorkas from office — Democrats control the Senate, 51-49, and appear to be united against the impeachment effort. No House Democrats supported it either.
While most Republicans oppose the quick 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 a move to end the trial. “I think it is virtually certain that there will be no conviction of someone when the constitutional test is not met,” he said.
At the same time, Romney said he wants to at least express his opinion that “Mayorkas has done a terrible job, but he is following the president’s lead and has not met the constitutional test of a high crime or misdemeanor.”
The two articles argue that Mayorkas not only refused to enforce existing law, but also violated the public’s trust by lying to Congress and saying the border was secure. The House vote was the first time in nearly 150 years that a Cabinet secretary was impeached.
Since then, Johnson has delayed sending the articles to the Senate for weeks while both chambers finish work on government funding legislation and take a two-week recess. Johnson had said he would send them to the Senate last week, but struck again after Senate Republicans said they wanted more time to prepare.
House impeachment managers made some of their arguments at a hearing with Mayorkas Tuesday morning on President Joe Biden’s budget request for the department.
Tennessee Rep. Mark Green, chairman of the House Homeland Security panel, told the secretary that he has a duty under the law to control and protect U.S. borders and “during your three years as secretary, you have not fulfilled this oath. You refused to comply with laws passed by Congress and violated the public trust.”
Mayorkas defended the department’s efforts but said the nation’s immigration system is “fundamentally broken and only Congress can fix it.”
Other impeachment managers are 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 of Georgia.
At a press conference with a group of Republican senators after the articles were delivered, the impeachment managers demanded that Schumer move forward with his case.
“The voice of the people is very clear,” said McCaul, chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee. “Secure the border and impeach this man, this criminal.”
If Democrats are unable to reject or introduce the articles, they could follow the precedent of several impeachment trials of federal judges over the last century and hold a vote to create a trial committee that would investigate the allegations. While there is sufficient precedent for this approach, Democrats may prefer to end the process altogether, especially in a presidential election year when immigration and border security are crucial issues.
If the Senate were to proceed with an impeachment trial, it would be the third in five years. Democrats have impeached President Donald Trump twice, once over his dealings with Ukraine and a second time in the days after the January 6, 2021 attack on the Capitol. Trump was acquitted by the Senate both times.
In a trial, senators would be forced to sit in their seats for perhaps weeks while House impeachment managers and lawyers representing Mayorkas present their cases. The Senate can also call witnesses if it so decides, and can ask questions of both sides after opening arguments are over.
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Associated Press writer Farnoush Amiri contributed to this report.
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