Staff Reports
The squabble over impeaching Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas took an unexpected turn as Senate Democrats swiftly shut down House Republicans’ attempt to put him on trial. In an unsurprising move, Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) urged the Senate to deem the first impeachment charge against Mayorkas as unconstitutional, which promptly ended in a 51-48-1 vote, with all Democrats in favor. The Republicans all voted no, except for Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-AK), who simply voted “present.”
Schumer succeeds in killing off Mayorkas impeachment trial before it can begin https://t.co/yCnV54N2At
— Anna Giaritelli (@Anna_Giaritelli) April 17, 2024
Schumer isn’t stopping there, though. He plans to make a similar move to scrap the second and final article of impeachment against Mayorkas, leaving the impeachment trial likely to wrap up as soon as it began. This speedy resolution is quite the departure from the usual House impeachment procedures, where evidence is presented to the Senate over a period of time.
The House’s decision to bring forth the articles of impeachment came after more than two months following Mayorkas’ impeachment for allegedly neglecting the law and breaching public trust amid the border crisis. Chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee, Mark Green (R-TN), led the charge, reading through the articles in their entirety before the Senate. Green’s committee had been looking into whether Mayorkas failed in his duties, particularly with over 9 million unauthorized immigrants being encountered at the southern border during his tenure, which started in January 2021.
It’s clear that the battle over Mayorkas is far from over, and as the drama continues to unfold, both sides of the political aisle will undoubtedly be watching closely.
