House Republicans are expected to formally present their articles of impeachment against Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas to the Senate on Tuesday, as part of the party’s effort to avoid an election-year showdown with the Biden administration over enforce immigration and border security.
In February, Republicans in the House of Representatives sidestepped skepticism within their own ranks and united Democratic opposition by narrowly approving two articles of impeachment against Mayorkas, making him the first sitting Cabinet official to be impeached.
Democrats, who control the Senate, have signaled their plans to quickly abandon the articles, arguing that the politically charged impeachment amounts to little more than a policy conflict with the administration, far from the high bar of “major crimes” and violations’. enshrined in the constitution. A two-thirds majority is needed to convict Mayorkas, which would be impossible without the support of some Democrats.
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Eleven Republican impeachment managers will deliver the articles to the Senate in a ceremonial procession, crossing the U.S. Capitol rotunda to inform the Senate that they were prepared to prosecute the secretary for “deliberate and systematic refusal” to enforce border policy coercion and a ‘violation of the law’. public confidence”.
House Speaker Mike Johnson initially delayed delivery of the items to focus on financing legislation to prevent a government shutdown. The broadcast was then postponed again after Senate Republicans asked for more time to figure out ways to ensure a trial in the Senate.
The Republicans are putting pressure on the Democrats to hold a full trial.
“We call on you to meet your constitutional obligation to hold this trial,” Johnson and the 11 Republican impeachment managers wrote in a letter to the Senate majority leader. Chuck Schumer. “The American people demand a secure border, an end to this crisis and accountability for those responsible. Filing articles of impeachment without ever hearing a single argument or reviewing evidence would be a violation of our constitutional order and an insult to the American people we all serve.”
Impeachment managers include far-right lawmakers Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia and Andy Biggs of Arizona, as well as House Homeland Security Chairman Mark Green of Tennessee, whose committee drafted the articles.
Several Republican senators have questioned the House of Representatives’ impeachment proceedings, former Homeland Security secretaries and several conservative legal scholars have blasted Republicans’ case against Mayorkas as deeply flawed and warned that it is one of Congress’ most powerful tools for removal of guilty officials threatens to undermine it. of “treason, bribery or other high crimes and misdemeanors”.
Schumer has said senators will be sworn in the next day after receiving the articles, and that Senate President Pro Tempore Patty Murray, a Washington Democrat, will preside over the chamber for the proceedings.
“The Senate is ready to go whenever the House is. We want to address the issue as quickly as possible,” Schumer said in a speech last week, adding: “Impeachment should never be used to resolve policy differences. That sets a terrible precedent.”
A group of Republican senators are considering ways to delay the process, suggesting they will make lengthy speeches and launch time-consuming procedural investigations to keep the focus on immigration, one of Biden’s biggest political vulnerabilities ahead of the 2024 election.
Mayorkas, who has denied wrongdoing and retains the president’s support, has become the face of the Biden administration’s struggle to control record migration to the U.S.-Mexico border. Republicans have attacked Biden’s handling of the humanitarian crisis and Donald Trump has once again put immigration at the center of his presidential campaign.
An effort to pass a bipartisan border bill — touted as the most conservative piece of immigration legislation in decades — was derailed by Republicans at Trump’s behest, who did not want Biden to score a victory on an issue that plays to political interests of the former president. benefit.
He has also asked Congress to approve requests for more Border Patrol agents and immigration court judges, but Republicans have refused, saying Biden should use his executive authority to stem the flow of migrants. Biden has said he is considering a sweeping executive action that would dramatically reduce the number of asylum seekers who can cross the southern border.
