House Republicans are planning to present articles of impeachment against Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas to the Senate following Congress’s return from recess next month. Speaker Mike Johnson and the House impeachment managers intend to present the articles to the Senate on April 10, kickstarting a clash over an impeachment trial that Democrats are expected to quickly quash. The impeachment is in response to Mayorkas’s handling of the U.S.-Mexico border, with Republicans accusing him of failing to enforce the nation’s laws and detain thousands of migrants.
The House voted to impeach Mayorkas last month, making him the first Cabinet secretary to be impeached in nearly 150 years. The Senate is required by its rules to convene as a court of impeachment shortly after the articles are transmitted from the House. The impeachment managers, including Reps. Green, McCaul, Biggs, and Greene, have accused Mayorkas of “willful and systemic refusal to comply with the law” and a “breach of public trust.” The Department of Homeland Security has denounced the impeachment effort as baseless and unconstitutional, claiming that House Republicans have falsely accused Mayorkas without evidence of impeachable offenses.
After the House impeachment managers present the articles to the Senate, senators will be sworn in as jurors in the trial the next day, with Sen. Patty Murray presiding. The Senate has the authority to hold a trial, which could result in the removal of an official from office. Senate rules suggest that a trial must be scheduled to begin the next legislative day after the articles are transmitted, but the outcome of the trial is largely up to the Senate itself. Democrats and Democratic-leaning independents control 51 seats in the Senate, giving them the power to decide the path forward for the impeachment trial.
The impeachment of Mayorkas is seen as a political stunt by many in the Democratic-controlled Senate. While the House has the power of impeachment, the Senate is responsible for conducting a trial that could lead to the removal of an official from office. The trial’s duration and outcome will ultimately be decided by the Senate majority, with Democrats holding the power to speed up, delay, or dismiss the impeachment altogether. The clash over Mayorkas’s impeachment is expected to play out in the Senate next month, with Republicans pushing for a full public trial and Democrats working to quash the effort quickly.
