Senate leaders moved quickly this month to reject articles of impeachment against Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro N. Mayorkas, calling for a speedy trial in hopes of stopping House Republicans from turning the chamber into a political spectacle. We plan to set up
Sen. Chuck Schumer, Democrat of New York and the majority leader, has no idea how to end the proceedings, according to people familiar with the ongoing discussions, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the developing plan. It has not yet been determined exactly. . But he is aiming to move quickly, starting with February 28, when the House of Representatives is scheduled to hand down charges, which could be over in just a few days.
Mr. Schumer still has nearly two weeks until House managers plan to formally submit articles of impeachment against Mr. Mayorkas to senators, which the House narrowly passed on Tuesday on a second try following last week's impeachment motion. . They accuse the secretary of refusing to enforce immigration laws and betraying the public's trust regarding the situation at the U.S. border with Mexico, effectively declaring President Biden's immigration policies a constitutional crime.
Senate leaders believe there is enough Democratic outrage and Republican outrage over the precedent-breaking charges and the way Mayorkas handled his impeachment to either drop the charges altogether or move on to the next step. I am betting that he will be exonerated quickly. End the proceedings early.
And they have no doubt that they can get the votes to acquit him. Conviction would require a two-thirds majority, and at least 18 Republican senators would need to join Democrats to convict Mayorkas.
“These accusations are completely bogus, truly disgraceful and completely undignified,” said Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., a member of the Judiciary Committee. “I think they are purely a political stunt by the far right wing of the MAGA movement and should be fired immediately.”
Constitutionally, the Senate must consider impeachment charges approved by the House. This means that if the provision is passed, some kind of trial in which senators are sworn in as jurors is inevitable. But from that point on, you have many options for how to proceed.
House Republicans are demanding a full trial.
“If they ignore this and don't take it as seriously as the American people and just throw it in the trash, there will be a responsibility and there will be consequences,” Majority Leader Rep. Steve Scalise of Louisiana said of the Senate Wednesday morning. Probably.'' . “They have to do their job.”
The Senate has held several high-profile impeachment trials in the past, most recently of former President Donald J. Trump in 2020 and 2021, both of which ended with his acquittal. The only other Cabinet member to be impeached, William Belknap, resigned before the House approved the charges in 1876, but was similarly acquitted.
But a full trial is not required, and Senate leaders can set their own rules for how the trial should proceed. Most modern impeachments include an opportunity for senators to move to drop the charges and a simple majority standard for doing so.
“There is substantial precedent for considering motions to dismiss at various stages of an impeachment trial,” said Joshua Matz, a constitutional lawyer and impeachment expert who worked on the House team that impeached Trump.
During former President Bill Clinton's 1999 impeachment trial, Sen. Robert C. Byrd filed such a motion immediately after the prosecution and defense presented their evidence. The trial was rejected largely along party lines, and the trial lasted about five weeks in total before Clinton was acquitted.
During Trump's second trial, Kentucky Republican Sen. Rand Paul objected and tried to end the trial, arguing that it was unconstitutional to try a former president. That attempt also failed, as five Republicans joined Democrats across party lines in voting to allow the trial to continue.
In Mr. Mayorkas' case, such a motion is almost certain to succeed, given that Democrats are likely to unite and pass it.
Senate Democrats are furious about Mayorkas' impeachment, and even some Republicans are cool about the idea, unwilling to enter into a protracted political spectacle with no chance of success. Some share the concerns expressed by the former Secretary of Homeland Security and many constitutional experts, including conservatives. They say the charges do not rise to the constitutional threshold of a felony or misdemeanor conviction.
Federal funding for some government agencies is set to expire on March 1 and others on March 8, and they come at a time when Congress faces two more government shutdown deadlines. I am particularly concerned about spending time on this issue.
West Virginia Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin III told reporters last week that he “wants” to drop the charges against Mayorkas “as soon as possible” and believes there is enough support in the chamber to remove him from office. Told. They early on.
Some Republicans say the exercise is futile.
“If they come, they'll be dead on arrival,” Sen. James Lankford, R-Oklahoma, said last week about the charges, adding that removing Mayorkas won't solve the border problem.
“Even if Mr. Mayorkas leaves, the policy will not change,” Lankford said. “We have the same president driving the policies, so the results will be the same.”
If the Senate succeeds in dismissing the charges against Mayorkas, Republicans will have to choose between a guilty verdict on the charges they believe are missing or a not-guilty vote to acquit Biden administration officials. , avoiding potentially unpleasant voting. , angering their right-wing base.
For Mr. Mayorkas, there is no real difference between being acquitted and having the charges dropped.
“If you are charged with a crime and the court dismisses the charge because the charge fails as a matter of law, you are effectively acquitted,'' Matz said, dismissing the criminal charge. He explained that he was actually innocent. The impeachment charge will be the final verdict.
