The Senate on Wednesday struck down the first article of impeachment against Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas as the Cabinet secretary's historic trial begins.
The article of impeachment that the Senate struck down was based on “deliberate and systematic refusal to comply with the law.” Mayorkas still faces his second article for “betraying the public trust.”
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer offered Republicans a time agreement that would allow for some floor debate and votes on trial resolutions and points of order before ultimately voting to dismiss the case. The meeting began.
Republican Sen. Eric Schmidt of Missouri disagreed, saying he did not agree with the proposal, which would be an “unprecedented” step in U.S. history to dismiss the impeachment charges without a trial. Many Republicans had hoped for an agreement so they could speak on the floor about why they thought a full trial should be held and other points. Otherwise, no statements may be made on the floor, except in the form of a summary of orders read and authorized by the chairperson, unless unanimous consent is obtained.
Schumer then filed a motion to introduce the first articles of impeachment, arguing that the charges “do not allege any conduct that rises to the level of a high crime or misdemeanor,” as required by the Constitution. After several procedural votes, the Senate passed the motion 51-48 with one vote in favor, invalidating the first article of impeachment.
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.
The House sent articles of impeachment to the Senate on Tuesday, and senators were sworn in as jurors on Wednesday. It is highly doubtful that the court will vote to convict, which would require a two-thirds majority vote, which is a very high bar.
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.”
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The U.S. Senate chamber Wednesday, just before senators are sworn in as jurors in the impeachment trial of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas.
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 to remove him, 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.”
Murray, a Democrat from Washington, 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.
White House and Homeland Security officials have been in frequent contact throughout the impeachment inquiry into Mr. Mayorkas, developing strategies and responses as he openly proclaims the trial a political stunt. Since Republicans began efforts to replace the Homeland Security secretary, Biden administration officials have insisted that Mayorkas intends to remain in the post and dismissed the Republican impeachment inquiry into the head of the Department of Homeland Security. It has been dismissed as meaningless.
Instead, the White House and Homeland Security officials have adopted a split-screen strategy, including wasting time on House majority proceedings while Mr. Mayorkas works with senators on a border deal. Expanded.
After months of negotiations, Senate Republicans earlier this year approved a major bipartisan border deal 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. was prevented.
The deal faced fierce attacks from former President Donald Trump and House Republican leaders.
CNN's Manu Raju and Priscilla Alvarez contributed to this report.