WASHINGTON – Senate Democrats on Wednesday successfully rejected two articles of impeachment against Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, just hours after the trial officially began.
The speed of the impeachment trial was a boon for Republicans, who had threatened to disrupt the Senate and slow the process to highlight Mayorkas’ failure to secure the border and stop the flow of thousands of illegal immigrants. It was an embarrassing blow. border.
But Democrats, who control the Senate, easily ignored two articles of impeachment and several motions to prorogue the Senate.
They filed a motion declaring that the first article of impeachment, which accuses Mayorkas of failing to enforce immigration laws, “does not allege conduct that rises to the level of a high crime or misdemeanor” and is “therefore unconstitutional.” It was approved. The party-line vote was 51-48, with Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) voting “present.”
Democrats also passed a motion to declare Article 2, which alleges Mayorkas lied to Congress under oath, unconstitutional. The strictly partisan vote tally was 51-49.
Less than three and a half hours into the trial, the Senate then voted to end the trial with a “sign die,” meaning forever.
“The Senate has categorically rejected this baseless impeachment, which even conservative legal scholars have called unconstitutional,” White House Press Secretary Ian Sams said in a statement.
“President Biden and Secretary Mayorkas will continue their work to keep America safe and pursue real solutions at the border, and Congressional Republicans will continue their work to undermine real bipartisan border security reform and make unwarranted decisions.” We should join them instead of wasting our time on political stunts.”
There was never a scenario in which Mr. Mayorkas would be convicted, which would have required two-thirds, or 67 votes. Democrats, led by Majority Leader Chuck Schumer of New York, promised early on that they would deal with impeachment “quickly” and then move on to other business.
Republicans, who had hoped to prolong the process and make it as politically painful as possible for Democrats, voiced frustration that the trial ended so quickly. Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Missouri) said Democrats set a terrible precedent by quickly dismissing the article. He suggested this could mean an end to future impeachments.
“It makes no difference, right? If you can impeach, then impeachment gets here and you’re like, boom, it’s gone, it’s over. You don’t have to do anything,” Hawley said. “Why wouldn’t a future Senate take advantage of that and try to abolish it so they don’t have to go to trial?”
Senate President Patty Murray, a Washington Democrat, presided over the trial Wednesday.
The day before, 11 House Republican impeachment managers, or prosecutors, walked across the Capitol to the Senate floor and accused Mayorkas of not only failing to enforce immigration laws and securing the border, but also lying to Congress. Handed out two articles accusing him. His oath included a statement that the U.S.-Mexico border is “secure.”
After reading the article on the Senate floor, the administrators held a press conference with conservative senators, calling for a full trial and calling the motion to quickly quash the article unprecedented.
After the Senate voted to reject the article, House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-Louisiana) and Republican leadership strongly reprimanded Democrats.
“By voting unanimously to avoid constitutional liability, all Senate Democrats are demonstrating full support for the Biden administration’s dangerous open borders policy,” Republican leaders said in a statement. ” he said.
“Secretary Mayorkas, along with President Biden, have used nearly every tool at their disposal to orchestrate the largest humanitarian and national security disaster at the border in American history.”
DHS spokeswoman Mia Ehrenberg denied the “baseless” impeachment in a statement, saying, “Secretary Mayorkas will continue to work every day to enforce the laws and protect our country. Now is the time to support the department’s important mission instead of wasting it.” game. “
