Staff Reports
Amid the ongoing crisis at the U.S.-Mexico border, Senate Republicans are calling on Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) to hold a full impeachment trial for Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas. 43 Republicans in the Senate penned a letter to Sen. Schumer demanding that the Senate uphold its constitutional responsibility to properly adjudicate the House of Representatives’ impeachment of Mayorkas.
Senate Republicans Issue a Warning to Chuck Schumer https://t.co/Sn5R4UdO5M
— Karen aka @djt_Susan (@SaintDonald45) April 12, 2024
The House of Representatives had approved the impeachment articles, which were due to be delivered next week, in an effort to make it more difficult for Schumer and Senate Democrats to avoid a trial. The letter from the Republican senators underscores the severity of the crisis at the border, claiming that Mayorkas has “abdicated control” of America’s borders to an unprecedented degree, causing the crisis to become a “nightmare for the American people.”
The Republican senators pointed out the significant increase in illegal alien encounters along the southwest border, spiking a “startling” 440 percent compared to FY 2020. They also highlighted the impact of the border crisis on the lives of Americans, including the flow of fentanyl across the border, the displacement of children from schools and playgrounds, assaults on police officers, and the infiltration of violent gang members and criminals into American cities.
The letter emphasized the constitutional duty of the Senate to hold a trial for impeachment, citing the historical precedent of previous impeachment trials over the past 227 years. The Republican senators expressed their concern that Senate Democrats have shown a disregard for norms and precedent, citing previous instances such as the “nuclear option” on judicial nominations and attempts to nuke the legislative filibuster.
The letter also invoked Alexander Hamilton’s description of the Senate’s duty to hold impeachment trials as an “important trust,” emphasizing the solemn responsibility placed on the Senate by the framers of the Constitution. The Republican senators highlighted the historical precedent of holding impeachment trials, with trials being held in every previous instance except when an impeached judge resigned from office before the trial commenced.
In addition to the constitutional duty and Senate precedent, the Republicans stressed that the “American people deserve to hear the evidence through a Senate trial in the Court of Impeachment.” They argued that the severity of the crisis at the border and its impact on American lives warrant a thorough impeachment trial for Secretary Mayorkas.
