Senators were sworn in as jurors at Homeland Security Sec. Alejandro Mayorkas’ impeachment trial Wednesday as Democrats quickly dismissed accusations against Biden’s top border official.
Mayorkas is the first government official to be impeached in nearly 150 years, but he will not be removed from office because it does not take 67 votes to convict him.
The Senate voted along party lines 51-49 to overturn the initial articles of impeachment against the Homeland Security secretary.
The Senate later voted 51-48 to remove the second article against Mayorkas. Notably, Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, voted present rather than for the article.
All 100 senators were present during the trial and the chamber spent only three hours on the impeachment proceedings.
The House Republican Party voted to impeach him in February on two articles – one for refusing to comply with the law and the other for lying to Congress about the severity of the migrant crisis, which has seen arrest records in 2021, 2022 and 2023.
But Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said Republicans were playing political games with the impeachment and ultimately he and Democrats managed to defeat the articles of impeachment by voting against it. any republican attempt to keep them alive.
Senators were sworn in as jurors at Homeland Security Sec. The impeachment trial of Alejandro Mayorkas Wednesday shortly after 1:30 p.m.
House Republicans voted in February to impeach Mayorkas for high crimes and misdemeanors related to his handling of the U.S. border and for lying to Congress.
“Today’s decision by the Senate to reject House Republicans’ baseless attacks on Secretary Mayorkas definitively proves that there was no evidence or constitutional grounds to justify impeachment,” the Gate said. -DHS spokesperson Mia Ehrenberg following failed impeachment votes.
“As he has during more than 20 years of dedicated public service, Secretary Mayorkas will continue to work every day to uphold our laws and protect our country.”
“It’s time for Republicans in Congress to support the Department’s vital mission instead of wasting time playing political games and obstructing common-sense, bipartisan border reforms.”
But Republicans say the short Senate trial proves that Democrats are not taking their responsibilities seriously.
“By voting unanimously to circumvent their constitutional responsibility, all Senate Democrats have given their full support to the Biden administration’s dangerous open border policies,” said a joint statement from House Republican leaders to the outcome of the trial.
“Secretary Mayorkas alongside President Biden used nearly every tool at his disposal to bring about the greatest humanitarian and national security catastrophe on our borders in American history.”
Despite harsh criticism from Republicans, the impeachment resulted in a devastating blow to the Republican Party.
Still, the event was a rare sight that doesn’t happen often at the Capitol.
Senate President pro tempore Patty Murray, a Washington Democrat, presided over Mayorkas’ impeachment trial.
Senate Pro Tempore Emeritus Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, swore in current Senate President Pro Tempore Patty Murray, D-Wash., to preside over Mayorka’s impeachment trial.
In a stunning historic moment, all senators raised their hands in unison to be sworn in as jurors. They were then called in groups of four to sign the oath book.
As the impeachment proceedings got underway, Schumer laid out the ground rules of the trial.
The Democratic leader said seven points of order would be allowed on the first article – which claims Mayorkas broke federal immigration laws – followed by an hour of debate.
Then the Senate will be allowed just one point of order on the second charge — that Mayorkas abused the public trust — and another hour of debate will ensue.
Then the Senate will vote on the charges and the impeachment court will adjourn.
“It is unbecoming of the Senate to undertake this purely partisan exercise, which conservative and liberal legal scholars agree does not meet the high standards required by impeachment,” Schumer said.
But Republicans say Mayorkas’ handling of border security has been atrocious, saying about nine million illegal immigrants have entered the United States since he took office.
“A fair trial seeks the truth, nothing more, nothing less. I will not help Senator Schumer set our Constitution on fire, bulldozing 200 years of precedent. Therefore, I oppose it,” countered Sen. Eric Schmitt, R-Mo.
Sen. Ted Cruz made a motion to move the hearing behind closed doors to try to allow the impeachment managers to present their case to a smaller Senate audience, but the motion was defeated by Democrats 51 to 49.
Following Cruz’s motion, Senator John Kennedy made a motion to adjourn until April 30. She was also rejected.
After Kennedy’s motion, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., made a motion to table Schumer’s point of order that declared the hearing unconstitutional.
Once again, the Republican motion failed.
Shortly thereafter, the first article of impeachment against Mayorkas failed.
Notably, in this vote, Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, separated herself from her colleagues and voted present.
After the first article was dismissed, similar motions were made regarding the second article of impeachment against Mayorkas.
They sought to submit the articles behind closed doors and adjourn the Senate until April 30. They both failed.
Kennedy then made a motion to adjourn the Senate until May 1.
This motion also failed.
Another motion introduced by Sen. Roger Marshall, R-Kan., sought to adjourn the Senate until Nov. 6, the day after the 2024 election.
The motion sparked laughter from some Republicans before its failure, like all the motions presented by Republicans before it.
Then, shortly after, the second article of impeachment against Mayorkas failed.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer claimed Republicans were playing political games with the impeachment and said he would end the trial immediately after it began.
“I will seek agreement on a debate period that would allow Republicans to offer a vote on test resolutions, propose points of order, and then reject them,” Schumer said Wednesday.
His announcement that he would quickly dismiss the articles all but killed the Republican Party’s hopes of a full trial.
However, some lawmakers may be grateful for the speed of the process because they are not allowed to leave the Senate while impeachment proceedings continue.
Additionally, a strange Senate rule prohibits them from bringing any food or drink onto the floor other than water, milk, or candy.
Senators Markwayne Mullin, Roger Marshall, Ted Cruz and John Kennedy have all been spotted with glasses of milk on their desks.
House impeachment managers march through the Capitol Tuesday to deliver the articles of impeachment against Mayorkas to the Senate
Republicans say Mayorkas encouraged migrants to cross the U.S. border illegally because DHS reduced penalties for doing so.
House Republicans voted to impeach Mayorkas in February after he “refused to comply with federal immigration laws” amid a record migrant surge and “betrayed the public trust” by telling Congress that the U.S.-Mexico border was secure.
GOP impeachment managers delivered the physical items to the upper chamber Tuesday in a dramatic march from the House to the Senate.
In two parallel lines, the 11 directors marched from the House to the Senate.
Upon arriving at the Senate floor, Manager Mark Green, R-Tenn., read aloud the accusations against Mayorkas.
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