The Senate is set to square off on articles of impeachment against Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, with Democrats expected to move quickly to reject them, while Republicans insist a full trial is needed. There is.
The House will send articles of impeachment to the Senate on Tuesday, and senators are scheduled to be sworn in as jurors on Wednesday.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer has not said exactly how he intends to handle the trial procedurally. But Democratic senators, as well as some Republicans, have indicated they expect the Senate to act. Dismissing a case before a full trial. Democrats could pass a motion to reject or table the provision with a simple majority vote as early as Wednesday.
Whatever happens, it is highly doubtful that the House will vote to convict, which would require a two-thirds majority vote, which is a very high bar.
Senate Republicans are trying to reach a time agreement with Democrats that would allow for floor debate and votes on procedural motions by Republican senators. It’s unclear how long the process will take, as Republicans may try to delay the process as much as they like if a time agreement isn’t reached, but it’s possible that at some point the Speaker will decide these efforts are too late and end them. There is also.
Mayorkas becomes the first Cabinet secretary to be impeached in nearly 150 years.. House Republicans narrowly voted to impeach Mayorkas in February over his handling of the southern border, after failing on his first attempt.
Democrats have denounced the impeachment as a political stunt, saying Republicans have no legitimate grounds for impeachment and that policy disagreements do not justify constitutional impeachment of cabinet members, which is rarely done.
“We want to address this issue as quickly as possible,” Schumer said on the floor Tuesday. “Impeachment should never be used to resolve policy disagreements.”
He added, “Talk about a terrible precedent. This would set a terrible precedent for Congress. Every time there’s a policy agreement in the House, they send it over here and tie up the Senate to do an impeachment trial. It’s absurd. It’s an abuse of the process.”
Senators are scheduled to be at their desks at 1pm ET for a live quorum. Once the senators are confirmed to attend, the chamber will proceed to consider articles of impeachment. Sen. Chuck Grassley (Iowa), the most senior Republican, will administer the oath of office to the president pro tempore and Sen. Murray of Washington, the most senior Democrat. Murray will administer the oath to all senators in the chamber in accordance with the Constitution and the Senate’s impeachment rules.
But many Republicans have criticized the possibility of him being removed from office or moving on immediately.
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell said Tuesday that senators have a “rare” and “solemn” responsibility to consider articles of impeachment, and said he would oppose any effort to introduce them.
“As befits the solemn and rare responsibility of convening a court of impeachment, I intend to address these charges with all my might,” he said.
The Kentucky Republican added: “It would be a violation of the dignity of the Senate to ignore our clear responsibilities and fail to give the charges being heard today the thoroughness they deserve.” . I will firmly oppose any effort to introduce articles of impeachment and avoid confronting the Biden administration’s border crisis. ”
Additionally, some far-right Republican senators are trying to find a way to force a full trial, but senators and aides from both parties say their efforts are not gaining enough momentum to pass. It is expected that
If the Senate votes to remove, it won’t break down strictly along partisan lines, as some Republicans have signaled they may be open to removing, especially if there is time for debate before the vote. there is a possibility.
Democrats seeking re-election in a tight race are likely to face pressure over their votes and whether they decide to reject or advance the provisions.
Sen. Bob Casey, a vulnerable Democrat from Pennsylvania who is up for re-election, told CNN’s Manu Raju that he planned to vote for removal, calling it a “partisan exercise.”
Asked if he thought the trial should be held in the Senate, Mr. Casey said: I think we should go ahead and work on a bipartisan border security agreement. ”
“To strengthen border security, we have to hire more Border Patrol agents, we have to hire more people at ICE. You can’t do that with an exercise like the one they’re working on. This is a partisan movement. “I think it’s a waste of people’s time, but we have to get over it,” he added.
Sen. Jon Tester, a Democrat from Montana who is also seeking re-election, declined to say whether he planned to support the dissolution motion when asked by CNN on Tuesday, before the article was sent to the Senate. “I was going to read the article this morning, but I haven’t read it yet,” he said, adding, “I still have to read the article.”
Senate President Pro Tempore Patty Murray, a Washington Democrat, will oversee proceedings.
The high number of border crossings comes as Republicans targeted Mayorkas as soon as they took control of the House and face pressure from their party base to go after the Biden administration on key campaign issues. I blamed it.
But several constitutional experts said the evidence Republicans presented for impeachment did not meet the U.S. Constitution’s high threshold for high crimes and misdemeanors.
Mr. Mayorkas has pushed back against criticism of his leadership, and the Department of Homeland Security has called the impeachment effort against him a baseless political attack.
The White House has been working to flip the script, arguing that Republicans blocking a bipartisan border deal in the Senate is evidence the party is not serious about border security.
After months of negotiations, Senate Republicans earlier this year approved a major bipartisan package that would mean tough changes to immigration law and give the president broad powers to restrict the entry of illegal immigrants at the southern border. Blocked border agreements.
The deal faced fierce attacks from former President Donald Trump and House Republican leaders.
CNN’s Manu Raju contributed to this report.
