Mayorkas Impeachment: Latest Developments Unfold in Senate Trial Preparation

TFD – Dive into the evolving situation surrounding the Mayorkas impeachment and Senate trial preparations, uncovering House Republican actions and potential political outcomes. Stay informed with the latest developments.

According to a letter obtained by CNN, Speaker Mike Johnson notified Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer that the House will submit the articles of impeachment against Department of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas to the Senate on April 10. This is the next step toward holding an impeachment trial in the upper chamber.

Schumer’s office responded to the letter saying senators will be sworn in as jurors on April 11.

Mayorkas became the first Cabinet secretary to be impeached in nearly 150 years on February 13, when the House impeached him by a very slim vote.

Last month, House Republicans succeeded in impeaching Mayorkas, despite their original attempt having failed due to GOP defections and absence, which precipitated a stunning defeat on the first floor vote. As pressure from their base to hold President Joe Biden and his departments and agencies accountable over immigration and border security policies has grown, Republicans have attempted to use Mayorkas’ impeachment to draw attention to the Biden administration’s handling of the southern border.

The impeachment process might be swiftly dismissed by senators in the Democratic-controlled Senate, as it is unlikely that they would find Mayorkas guilty. However, Schumer has not specified how his chamber will conduct the trial. Senate President Pro Tempore Patty Murray will preside over the hearings, according to Schumer’s statement from last month.

Despite the fact that multiple constitutional scholars have stated that the evidence does not meet that high standard, Johnson claimed in his letter that Mayorkas has committed serious crimes and misdemeanors related to his management of the southern border.

As CNN has reported, House Republicans purposefully withheld sending the impeachment articles to the Senate until after Congress had finished discussing government financing for this fiscal year. The two chambers will reconvene during the week of April 8.

Johnson urged Schumer to try Mayorkas in front of the Senate.

Johnson wrote to Schumer, stating that he must carry out his “constitutional obligation,” and urged him to set up a trial of the subject as soon as possible.

A clash over immigration between Senate Democrats and Republicans is set up by sending the articles of impeachment against Mayorkas to the Senate. This is a particularly contentious issue in the run-up to the 2024 presidential election.

Many Republicans are becoming even less optimistic about the possibility of impeaching the president, who is likely their main investigative target this Congress, as a result of the way the impeachment process against Mayorkas has unfolded. With their razor-thin majority, Republicans lack the votes and hard evidence needed to impeach Biden, which has caused the impeachment investigation to come to a standstill.

Furthermore, a lot of people have noted that the Democratic-controlled Senate is unlikely to move forward with Mayorkas’ impeachment, which suggests their laborious attempts to remove Biden from office would fail.

Comer wrote, “What do you think they would do if we impeached Biden?” emphasizing that the Senate has not yet taken up the Mayorkas impeachment articles and will probably do so soon.

Along with Reps. Michael McCaul of Texas, Andy Biggs of Arizona, Clay Higgins of Louisiana, Ben Cline of Virginia, Michael Guest of Mississippi, Andrew Garbarino of New York, Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgie, August Pfluger of Texas, Harriet Hageman of Wyoming, and Laurel Lee of Florida, Johnson signed the letter with the House Republicans he designated as his impeachment managers.

There have been more developments added to this article.