The Senate suspended the first article of impeachment against Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas on Wednesday as the Cabinet secretary's historic trial began.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer opened the proceedings by offering Republicans a scheduling agreement that would allow a certain amount of debate and votes on trial decisions and points of order before a final vote on dismissal of the affair.
Republican Sen. Eric Schmidt of Missouri opposed it, saying he would not accept a proposal that would take an "unprecedented" step in U.S. history by rejecting impeachment proceedings without a trial. Many Republicans wanted a deal because it would have allowed them to make speeches about why they thought a full trial should take place and other points. Without this, they will not be allowed to speak on the podium - unless they obtain unanimous consent - except in the form of legible points of order authorized by the President.
Schumer then made a motion to expunge or dismiss the Article 1 indictment because it "does not alleviate conduct that would rise to the level of a felony or serious misdemeanor." as required by the Constitution. After several rounds of procedural votes, the Senate passed this proposal by a vote of 51 to 48, with one vote present, thereby eliminating the first article of impeachment.
Mayorkas is the first minister to be impeached in almost 150 years. House Republicans narrowly voted last February to impeach Mayorkas over his handling of the southern border, after failing in their first attempt.
The House of Representatives returned the articles of impeachment to the Senate on Tuesday, and senators were sworn in as jurors on Wednesday. The Council is highly unlikely to vote to convict, which would require a two-thirds majority – an extremely high bar to clear.
Democrats have criticized the impeachment as a political ploy, saying Republicans have no valid basis for the move and that political differences do not justify the rarely used constitutional removal of a Cabinet official.
“We want to resolve this issue as quickly as possible,” Schumer said in his remarks Tuesday. “Impeachment should never be used to resolve a political dispute. »
He added: “Talk about terrible precedents. This would set a terrible precedent for Congress. Every time there's a political deal in the House, they send it here and convene the Senate for an impeachment trial? It's ridiculous. This is an abuse of process. “It’s even more chaos.”
Many Republicans oppose rapid impeachment
However, a number of Republicans in Congress have criticized the possibility of a quick dismissal or a move to the negotiating table.
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell said Tuesday that senators have a "rare" and "solemn" responsibility to consider articles of impeachment, and said he would oppose any effort to include these items on the agenda.
He said: “As befits a responsibility as solemn and rare as that of convening a court of arraignment, I intend to give these charges my full attention. »
The Kentucky Republican added: “It would be unbecoming of the Senate if we ignored our obvious responsibility and failed to give the accusations we will hear today the attention they deserve. » “I will strongly oppose any effort to introduce articles of impeachment and avoid looking directly at the border crisis facing the Biden administration. »
Additionally, some right-wing Republican senators are trying to find a way to force a full trial, but their efforts are not expected to have enough strength to pass, according to senators and aides from both parties.
Key Senators to Watch
If the Senate takes an impeachment vote, it may not be strictly divided along partisan lines, and some Republicans have indicated they may be willing to do so, especially if there is time for a debate before the vote.
Democrats seeking re-election in tough races will likely face pressure over their vote and whether to reject or schedule the items.
Weak Democratic Sen. Bob Casey of Pennsylvania, who is seeking re-election, told CNN's Manu Raju he would vote for impeachment, calling it a "partisan exercise."
When asked if he thought there should be a trial in the Senate, Casey replied: "I don't think so. I think we should move forward and work on a bipartisan security agreement borders."
"You have to hire Border Patrol agents, you have to hire more people at Immigration and Customs Enforcement to keep the borders secure. You can't do that with an exercise like the one they're participating in. It's "It's a partisan exercise and I think it's a waste of people's time, but we have to get through it," he added.
Democratic Sen. Jon Tester of Montana, who is also seeking reelection, did not say whether he planned to support a motion to reject when asked by CNN Tuesday before the articles were sent to the Senate. “I was going to read the articles this morning and I haven’t done it yet,” he said, adding: “I still have to read the articles.”
Murray, a Washington Democrat, will oversee the proceedings.
The Mayorkas under the microscope
Republicans targeted Mayorkas once they took control of the House, blaming the large number of border crossings on the Homeland Security secretary as the party faced pressure from its base to step down. take on the Biden administration on a key campaign issue.
However, several constitutional scholars said the evidence presented by Republicans for Trump's impeachment trial did not meet the high standards for crimes and misdemeanors set by the U.S. Constitution.
Mayorkas has responded to criticism of his leadership and the Department of Homeland Security has called efforts to impeach him a baseless political attack.
For its part, the White House has worked to flip the script, citing Republicans' obstruction of the bipartisan border deal in the Senate as evidence that the party is not serious about national security. borders.
White House and Department of Homeland Security officials have been in frequent contact during Mayorka's impeachment inquiry, juggling strategy and response as they publicly characterized the trial as a political stunt. Since Republicans launched their effort to oust the Homeland Security secretary, Biden administration officials have maintained that Mayorkas intends to stay in office, dismissing the GOP impeachment inquiry into the head of the Department of Homeland Security as “futile.”
Instead, White House and Department of Homeland Security officials used a split-screen strategy, such as describing the House majority's proceedings as a waste of time.
while Mayorkas worked with senators to reach an agreement on the border.
After months of negotiations, Senate Republicans earlier this year blocked a key bipartisan border deal that would have represented a sweeping change in immigration law and given the president broad powers to restrict the passage of immigrants illegal at the southern border.
The deal was the subject of a torrent of attacks from former President Donald Trump and senior Republicans in the House of Representatives.