Senators dismiss Mayorkas impeachment without trial: Recap

The Department of Homeland Security said the dismissal of articles of impeachment against Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas shows there were no constitutional grounds for the case. 

The House articles accused him with violating immigration laws and breach of public trust — arguments Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) said fell short of the high crimes and misdemeanors standard set out in the constitution. 

“Today’s decision by the Senate to reject House Republicans’ baseless attacks on Secretary Mayorkas proves definitively that there was no evidence or Constitutional grounds to justify impeachment,” DHS spokeswoman Mia Ehrenberg said in a statement. 

“As he has done throughout more than 20 years of dedicated public service, Secretary Mayorkas will continue working every day to enforce our laws and protect our country. It’s time for Congressional Republicans to support the Department’s vital mission instead of wasting time playing political games and standing in the way of commonsense, bipartisan border reforms.”

— Rebecca Beitsch

The Senate concluded the proceedings by voting 51 to 49 to adjourn as a court of impeachment.

The Senate voted Wednesday to dismiss two articles of impeachment against Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, shutting down the possibility of a lengthy Senate trial, which Republicans had demanded to bring attention to the Biden administration’s record on immigration and border security.

It marked the first time in 225 years the Senate voted to immediately dismiss impeachment charges approved by the House instead of holding a floor trial or referring the matter to a special committee to review it.

READ THE FULL STORY HERE.

— Alexander Bolton

It appears the long day and multiple procedural votes may be wearing on senators.

Three had to switch their votes on Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer’s (D-N.Y.) point of order after initially voting the wrong way.

— Al Weaver

A motion from Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.) for the Senate to adjourn until May 1, 2004 — which he quickly corrected to 2024 — drew laughs from his fellow lawmakers.

It appears Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) has been reading a magazine at times as the Senate moves through procedural votes.

Sen. Roger Wicker (R-Miss.) raised a parliamentary inquiry, asking if the Senate was about to set a precedent that an allegation of a felony was not a high crime or misdemeanor. Senate President Pro Tempore Patty Murray (D-Wash.) ruled from the chair that it was “not an appropriate parliamentary inquiry,” earning mock laughs and groans of “oh, come on” from Republicans, particularly Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah).

Some laughs could be heard on the Democratic side after Sen. Roger Marshall (R-Kan.) moved to adjourn the Senate until after the November election.

Sen. Gary Peters (D-Mich.) and some other Democrats could be heard saying “no debate” as Sen. John Thune (R-S.D.) made a motion to table Schumer’s point of order that the second article of impeachment is unconstitutional.

— Al Weaver

Sen. Roger Wicker (R-Miss.), the senior Republican on the Senate Armed Services Committee, warned his Democratic colleagues were setting a bad precedent by offering a point of order declaring that the House had failed to allege a high crime or misdemeanor after accusing Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas of lying to Congress.

“I appreciate my friend from New York is eager to get this done with but are we about to set a precedent that the allegation of a felony is not a high crime and misdemeanor?” he said, referring to Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.).

But Wicker’s query on the subject was not well received by Senate President Pro Tempore Patty Murray (D-Wash.), who ruled from the chair that it was “not an appropriate parliamentary inquiry.”

Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah) pointed out that making false statements is a violation of 18 U.S.C. Section 1001 and a felony offense.

“If this is not that high crime and misdemeanor, what is,” Lee demanded.

— Alexander Bolton

Sen. John Fetterman (D-Pa.) criticized the impeachment of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas as “bad performance art and a waste of time.”

“The House GOP can’t seem to grasp that impeachment is a constitutional tool reserved for cases of ‘high crimes and misdemeanors,’ not political vendettas,” Fetterman said in a statement.

“These efforts by Speaker Johnson and the House GOP to cheapen a solemn process like impeachment for political gain set a bad precedent and divert attention from the real problem: the crisis at our border,” he continued.

“This stunt is nothing more than bad performance art and a waste of time,” Fetterman added. “House Republicans are doing everything they can to turn the United States Congress into ‘The Jerry Springer Show.’ It’s charades like this that make people hate Washington.”

— Tara Suter

Senate Republicans tried again to force the Senate impeachment trial to adjourn to protest Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer’s (D-N.Y.) point-of-order objections against the articles of impeachment against Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas.

Sen. Rick Scott (R-Fla.) offered the motion to adjourn the court of impeachment but it failed by a vote of 49 to 51.

— Alexander Bolton

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) moved to quickly dismiss the second impeachment charge against Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, raising a point of order that the House managers had failed to allege conduct rising to the level of a high crime or misdemeanor.

The second article of impeachment accuses Mayorkas of breaching the public trust by making false statements to Congress and failing to comply with congressional subpoenas.

He did so moments after the Senate voted 51 to 48 to dismiss the first article of impeachment against Mayorkas, accusing him of willfully refusing to comply with immigration law.

Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah) sprang to his feet to block Schumer’s point of order by offering a motion to force the Senate to go into closed session to debate the constitutionality of the second impeachment charge.

“Article II accuses him of knowingly making false statements. This is a violation of 18 U.S.C. Section 1001, a felony offense. If this I not that high crime and misdemeanor, what is?” Lee exclaimed.

Lee’s motion failed by a vote of 49 to 51.

— Alexander Bolton

Amid discussions over whether the second article of impeachment raises constitutional questions, Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah) noted the article accuses Mayorkas of lying to Congress.

Those accusations relate to testimony Mayorkas gave responding to questions over whether the border was operationally secure. House GOP lawmakers argued he did not meet the definition under the Secure Fence Act, which says such a standard is met only when not a single person or good wrongly crosses the border.

Mayorkas’s numerous responses to whether he has operational control of the border were laid out in a memo from Rep. Chip Roy (R-Texas).

“I do, and congressman, I think the secretary of Homeland Security would have said the same thing in 2020 and 2019,” Mayorkas said in a 2022 exchange when asked if he met the standard.

In a July hearing, Mayorkas said: “With respect to the definition of operational control, I do not use the definition that appears in the Secure Fence Act. And the Secure Fence Act provides statutorily that operational control is defined as preventing all unlawful entries into the United States. By that definition, no administration has ever had operational control.”

— Rebecca Beitsch

The Senate voted along party lines Wednesday to sustain a point-of-order objection raised by Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) against the first article of impeachment approved by the House accusing Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas of willfully refusing to comply with the law.

Schumer declared that the charge was unconstitutional because the House impeachment managers had failed to allege conduct rising to the level of a high crime or misdemeanor, the standard set by Article 2, Section 4 of the Constitution.

The Senate voted 51 to 48 to sustain the objection. Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) voted present.

— Alexander Bolton

Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell (Ky.) chided his Senate Democratic colleagues for not taking their constitutional duty more seriously by allowing the House impeachment managers to present their case against Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas on the Senate floor.

“Our colleagues know that we ae obligated to take these proceedings seriously. This is what our oath prescribes. It’s what the history and precedent require. And I would urge each of our colleagues to consider that this is what the Framers actually envisioned,” he said.

The Senate rejected McConnell’s motion to table Schumer’s objection to the constitutionality of the House impeachment charges by a vote of 51 to 49.

— Alexander Bolton

Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.) attempted to force the Senate impeachment trial to adjourn to protest Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer’s (D-N.Y.) effort to declare the two impeachment charges against Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas unconstitutional.

“My Democratic friends have refused to go into closed session so we can’t discuss it. For that reason, Madam President, I move that we adjourn this court of impeachment immediately,” Kennedy announced.

He asked to adjourn the Senate impeachment proceeding until April 30.

The Senate voted down Kennedy’s motion to adjourn 51 to 49 along party lines.

— Alexander Bolton

Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) stood up on the Senate floor to block Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer’s (D-N.Y.) attempt to declare the impeachment charges unconstitutional by offering a motion to send the Senate into closed session to debate it.

“The majority leader argued that Secretary Mayorkas’s defiance of immigration law and abiding and abetting, does not constitute a high crime or misdemeanor, he has presented no briefing or argument on that decision,” Cruz argued.

The Senate voted down the motion 51 to 49.

Schumer retorted that he offered Republicans a chance to debate the constitutionality of the charges in public.

“We gave your side a chance for debate in public where it should be, and your side objected. We are moving forward,” he declared.

— Alexander Bolton

In a crafty move, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) is front-running Senate Republicans’ plan to offer multiple points of order on the Senate floor to protest the dismissal of the two impeachment articles against Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas.

Specifically, Schumer has offered his own point of order declaring that the House impeachment charges are unconstitutional because they do not “allege conduct that rise to the level of a high crime or misdemeanor.”

Senate President Pro Tempore Patty Murray (D-Wash.), who is presiding over the trial, said she does not have the power or authority to decide the question and will let the entire Senate vote on Schumer’s objection.

Because Schumer is moving to effectively dismiss the first article of impeachment through a point of order, Republicans cannot first force the Senate to vote on their own points of order demanding a floor trial or to refer the impeachment to a special committee.

— Alexander Bolton

Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) is huddling at the back of the chamber with fellow GOP Sens. John Kennedy (La.), Roger Marshall (Kan.) and Ted Budd (N.C.), along with House conservatives including Andy Biggs (Ariz.), Matt Rosendale (Mont.) and Clay Higgins (La.).

Republicans are deciding their next move after Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) raised a point-of-order objection to the first article of impeachment.

— Al Weaver

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) has raised a point-of-order objection to the first article of impeachment against Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, and Senate Republicans have responded by asking for a quorum call to give them some time to decide their next move.

If the Senate votes to sustain Schumer’s point of order against the first House-passed article of impeachment, it would effectively dismiss the first charge against Mayorkas of willfully failing to comply with the law.

Then Schumer is expected to raise another point of order against the second impeachment article charging Mayorkas with breach of public trust.

Schumer moved to immediately dismiss the first article of impeachment after Sen. Eric Schmitt (R-Mo.) objected to the Democratic leader’s request for unanimous consent to consider two Republican-sponsored resolutions to hold a floor trial and to refer the impeachment to a special committee.

— Alexander Bolton

Republican Sens. John Thune (S.D.), Ted Cruz (Texas), John Kennedy (La.), Mike Lee (Utah), John Cornyn (Texas) and Bill Cassidy (La.), along with Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell’s (Ky.) top aide are huddling on the Senate floor as the Senate takes a vote.

— Al Weaver

Senate sergeant-at-arms Karen Gibson commanded all senators to “keep silent under the pain of imprisonment” while the Senate impeachment proceedings take place on the floor.

The strict limitations on senators’ speech on the floor during an impeachment trial makes it difficult for lawmakers to delay or interrupt the action.

— Alexander Bolton

Senate President Pro Tempore Patty Murray (D-Wash.) swore in members of the Senate around 1:30 p.m. EDT Wednesday to serve as jurors in the impeachment trial of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas.

Senators stood at their desks, holding their right hands in the air as they swore to “do impartial justice according to the Constitution and the laws.”

They then traveled to the Senate desk in groups of four to sign the oath book.

— Alexander Bolton

Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) has sworn in Senate President Pro Tempore Patty Murray (D-Wash.) to preside over the chamber as it takes up the articles of impeachment.

Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) said that a time agreement remains out of reach, but that he expects proceedings to end this afternoon.

“I think it’s going to be points of order, disposed over two hours,” he said, adding that he believes this will be wrapped up ahead of dinner time. “Without debate, it would just require too many points of order.”

“I’m not changing my dinner plans,” he added.

— Al Weaver

Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) is plowing ahead with his plan to send aid to embattled U.S. allies — including Ukraine — despite sharp criticism from conservatives in his caucus.

Johnson informed GOP lawmakers in a text message Wednesday morning that he will “soon” release the legislative text for three bills that would send assistance to Ukraine, Israel and allies in the Indo-Pacific. That legislation, he said, will include a loan structure for aid and enhanced strategy and accountability.

Later on Wednesday, Johnson said he plans to unveil text for a fourth bill that includes other national security priorities including a TikTok ban, a provision to help pay for aid by using seized Russian assets, sanctions and other measures to confront Russia, China and Iran.

READ THE FULL STORY HERE.

— Mychael Schnell

Sen. John Thune (S.D.), the No. 2 Republican in the Senate, said Republicans still haven’t come to a time agreement with Democratic leaders setting up debate, and that it is likely to lead to an unstructured lead-up to a dismissal of the articles.

“They’re going to have to allow a number of the points of order … to be voted on. You just wouldn’t have anything locked in. It would be less structured,” he told reporters.

“So we’ll see. It’s still evolving,” he said, adding that the length of pretrial events depends on the structure, or lack thereof, of proceedings.

— Al Weaver

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) announced Wednesday he will offer a motion to dismiss the two House-passed articles of impeachment against Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, slamming the charges as “bogus” and lacking legitimacy.

Senators are set to be sworn in as jurors at 1 p.m. EDT, and Schumer said he will then seek a time agreement to allow Republicans to offer motions on trial resolutions and points of order. Then will move to quickly dismiss the matter.

READ MORE HERE.

— Alexander Bolton

The House impeachment managers on Tuesday formally delivered two articles of impeachment against Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, setting up a battle on the Senate floor over whether to hold a full trial in the upper chamber.

It marks the first time since 1876 that the House has sent impeachment charges against a Cabinet official to the Senate, according to the Senate historical office.

Senators received the House managers shortly after 2 p.m. EDT Tuesday while seated at their desks, a rare formality adopted in the upper chamber only for the most serious occasions.

Nearly every seat in the Senate chamber was filled when the 11 House managers walked down the center aisle to read the charges from the well.

Adding to the gravity of the moment, the Senate sergeant at arms commanded “all persons” to “keep silent, on pain of imprisonment” while the House prosecutors read the charges and exhibited the impeachment articles.

Senators will be sworn in as jurors at 1 p.m. Wednesday to decide whether to hold a full trial on the Senate floor, something Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) has signaled he has no intention of doing.

READ THE FULL STORY HERE.

— Alexander Bolton