Mayorka’s impeachment trial begins this week in the Senate, but could be over before it begins

WASHINGTON — House Republicans will take their case against Alejandro Mayorkas to the Senate this week, two months after ousting the Homeland Security secretary. It will be the third time in five years that senators have been sworn in as jurors in the Court of Impeachment.

The Republican-controlled House impeached Mayorkas by a single vote margin on February 13 and recommended that Mayorkas be removed from office over his handling of the US-Mexico border. With two articles of impeachment, the House of Representatives charges that Mayorkas “willfully and systematically” refused to enforce existing immigration laws and betrayed the public trust by lying to Congress and saying the border was secure.

After several weeks of hesitation, House Speaker Mike Johnson said in late March that he would send the two articles to the Senate on April 10.

However, unlike former President Donald Trump’s two impeachments in 2020 and 2021, the Senate is not expected to spend much time considering the charges. Democrats who control the Senate appear to have the votes to immediately reject the trial, although Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., has not yet said what he plans to do.

Democrats say the charges against Mayorkas amount to a policy conflict, not the “high crimes and misdemeanors” enshrined in the Constitution as a bar to impeachment.

Johnson and Senate Republicans are urging Schumer to hold a full trial. “If he cares about the Constitution and ending the devastation caused by Biden’s border disaster, Senator Schumer will quickly schedule a full public trial and hear the arguments of our impeachment managers,” Johnson said in a statement.

The House of Representatives’ 214-213 impeachment vote in February, a narrowly successful second attempt after the House rejected the effort a week earlier, marked the first time a Cabinet secretary had been impeached in nearly 150 years. And while the Senate is now required to consider the charges, two-thirds of the chamber would have to vote to convict him. Not a single Democrat has expressed support for impeachment.

Still, there is a process senators must follow under the rules of impeachment. A look at the Senate’s next steps:

Under impeachment rules, a group of House managers—members who act as prosecutors and are appointed by the speaker—will file the impeachment charge by reading the articles on the Senate floor, usually after performing a ceremonial ceremony with the articles in hand. walked through the Capitol. . Johnson has said this will happen on Wednesday.

Senators are expected to be sworn in as jurors on Thursday, Schumer said in a letter to his colleagues on Friday. The Senate must then subpoena Mayorkas to inform him of the allegations and request a written response. But he would not have to appear in the Senate at any time.

The president pro tempore of the Senate, Washington Senator Patty Murray, will preside. She serves in that role as the most senior member of the majority party.

What happens after the Senate jurors are sworn in is less clear. The rules generally allow the Senate to decide how to proceed.

If Schumer can win a simple majority, Democrats could dismiss the trial outright or file the two articles of impeachment, ending the House of Representatives’ efforts and allowing the Senate to move on to other business.

Although Schumer has not yet revealed his plans, he is expected to try to dismiss the lawsuit in some way if he gets the votes. Democrats control the Senate, 51-49.

To get to 51 votes, every Democrat and the three Independents in the House would have to vote in favor of dismissal, or possibly fewer if Republicans join them. So far, no Democrats or Independents have expressed support for pursuing an impeachment trial.

In his letter to colleagues Friday, Schumer told senators that their presence is “essential” when they are sworn in as jurors on Thursday — hinting that a close vote may take place that day.

While several Republican senators have questioned the need for a trial, it is unclear whether any of them would go so far as to dismiss the charges outright. One possibility is Utah Sen. Mitt Romney, who said earlier this year that he would be inclined to vote with Democrats if they hold a vote to unseat.

Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky predicted last week at an event in his home state of Kentucky that Schumer will file a motion to dismiss or dismiss the charges.

“The Democrats have the majority, so it may not last long,” McConnell said. “My preference would be for an actual trial, but I think the majority would probably avoid that.”

If Democrats fail to dismiss the lawsuit or submit the articles, there is a second option: They could follow the precedent of several impeachment trials before federal judges over the past century and hold a vote to to set up a trial committee to investigate the allegations. .

While there are no hard and fast rules for forming a trial committee, the Senate previously passed a resolution authorizing party leaders to each recommend six senators and a chairman to head the committee. These committees had the ability to call witnesses and issue final reports to the Senate prior to any trials.

While there is plenty of precedent for this approach, Democrats will likely try to avoid it if they can stop the process completely, especially in a presidential election year when immigration and border security are top issues.

Echoing Trump’s defense during his impeachment proceedings, Schumer has called the House of Representatives’ efforts a “sham.”

“House Republicans have not provided any evidence that Secretary Mayorkas committed any crime,” Schumer said shortly after the House of Representatives voted to impeach him. “The Republicans in the House of Representatives have not been able to prove that he violated the Constitution. House Republicans failed to provide any evidence of anything resembling a criminal offense.”

If the Senate were to proceed with a trial, senators would be forced to remain in their seats for perhaps weeks while House impeachment managers and attorneys representing Mayorkas make their case. The Senate may also call witnesses if it decides to do so. Senators also have the opportunity to question the two sides before a final vote on whether to convict them.

In a February letter led by Sen. Mike Lee of Utah, 13 Senate Republicans argued that a trial is necessary, writing that Democrats “should not be allowed to shirk their constitutional duty.”

During a briefing with reporters on Friday, Mayorkas seemed unconcerned.

“When I say I’m not focused on impeachment, I mean it,” Mayorkas said. “I hope my time is not taken away from my work.”

To underscore that point, Mayorkas will appear before a Senate committee on Wednesday to testify about his department’s budget proposal.

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Associated Press writers Stephen Groves in Washington and Bruce Schreiner in Shelbyville, Kentucky, contributed to this report.