The GOP-led House plans to send the impeachment articles against Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas over his handling of the border crisis to the Senate next month.
Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) and the impeachment managers sent a letter to Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) on Thursday saying they would present the articles on April 10.
“We urge you to schedule a trial of the matter expeditiously,” they wrote, adding later, “We call upon you to fulfill your constitutional obligation to hold this trial. The American people demand a secure border, an end to this crisis, and accountability for those responsible.”
Roughly six weeks ago, in a second attempt, House lawmakers narrowly passed two articles of impeachment that accuse Mayorkas of “willfully and systemically” refusing to comply with federal immigration laws, and the other alleged he “breached the public trust” with false statements and obstructing lawful oversight of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).
Schumer’s office responded by saying that House impeachment managers “will present the articles of impeachment to the Senate following the state work period,” suggesting that a trial could have started as early as late February. The office added that senators “will be sworn in as jurors in the trial the next day,” and Senate President Pro Tempore Patty Murray (D-WA) will preside.
In the intervening weeks, Congress scrambled to pass two waves of spending legislation to avert a government shutdown. House lawmakers also held a public hearing in the corruption-focused impeachment inquiry against President Joe Biden.
In a new statement following the House letter, Schumer’s office reiterated, “As we have said previously, after the House impeachment managers present the articles of impeachment to the Senate, Senators will be sworn in as jurors in the trial the next day. Senate President Pro Tempore Patty Murray will preside.”
A two-thirds vote is required for a conviction in the Democrat-led Senate, which would lead to removal from office. But the articles may not make it far with a motion to table, which, according to the Senate glossary, is “a proposal to set aside any pending question. Used to dispose of a question the Chamber does not want to consider further. Agreement to the motion is equivalent to defeating the question tabled.”
Sen. Mike Lee (R-UT) and a dozen Republican colleagues sent a letter to Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) in February stressing that it is “imperative that the Senate Republican conference prepare to fully engage our Constitutional duty and hold a trial.”
Briefings by McConnell’s staff indicate Senate Democrats “intend to dispense with the articles of impeachment by simply tabling both individually,” the letter said. “This is an action rarely contemplated and never taken by the U.S. Senate in the history of our Republic.”
Lee and his colleagues ended the letter by calling on McConnell to “join us in our efforts to jettison this approach by Democrats to shirk their Constitutional duty, ensure that the Senate conducts a proper trial, and that every Senator, Republican and Democrat, adjudicate this matter when the Senate returns.”
McConnell later told reporters that he thought a full Senate trial “would be the best way to go forward.”
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Johnson and the 10 impeachment managers, including Homeland Security Chairman Mark Green (R-TN) and Foreign Affairs Chairman Michael McCaul (R-TX), warned: “To table articles of impeachment without ever hearing a single argument or reviewing a piece of evidence would be a violation of our constitutional order and an affront to the American people whom we all serve.”
Democrats have criticized the impeachment proceedings as a “political stunt,” while Mayorkas pushed back against what he called “false accusations” levied against him. A DHS spokesperson reacted to the successful impeachment vote last month by saying, “House Republicans will be remembered by history for trampling on the Constitution for political gain rather than working to solve the serious challenges at our border.”