The impeachment trial of the first sitting Cabinet secretary ended just over three hours after it began after Republicans quickly canceled an opportunity for limited debate and the creation of an impeachment committee, marking a rapid closure to the first indictment of a sitting cabinet. secretary.
Democrats, voting along party lines, found the first article accusing Mayorkas of “deliberate and systemic refusal to comply with the law” unconstitutional. Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) voted present. Democrats again voted along party lines, finding the second article accusing Mayorkas of “breach of public trust” also unconstitutional. The trial ended before the House impeachment managers could present their arguments.
Shortly after the trial opened, Senate Majority Schumer (D-N.Y.) offered Republicans a period of debate and the opportunity to create an impeachment committee, which was roundly rejected by Sen. Eric Schmitt (R-Missouri). Schumer quickly responded with a point of order to declare the first article of impeachment against Mayorkas unconstitutional, provoking the first of many procedural objections from Republicans that followed.
Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Tex.) called for moving the Senate into closed session; Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.) has proposed adjourning the Senate until April 30; and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) called for tabling Schumer’s point of order. Every objection made by Republicans, who find themselves in a relatively powerless position in the minority, has failed.
Some senators appeared bored at their small desks as Republicans raised one procedural argument after another, forcing a series of failed votes to delay the trial and other matters. At times, Republicans have attempted to deliver lengthy remarks on the House floor, accusing the Mayorkas and Democrats of THE record levels of migration at the southern border of the United States. Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash.) repeatedly intervened as her Republican colleagues attempted to turn their calls for order into political statements, interrupting Sen. John Thune (R-S.D.) as he described the border crisis in a long introduction to another failed procedural vote.
washingtonpost
