Two articles of impeachment passed by the House against Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas will be delivered to the Senate on April 10 after Congress returns from Easter recess, Speaker Mike Johnson said Thursday.
The move will formally kick off the next step of the impeachment process against Mr. Mayorkas, who Republicans accuse of being derelict in his duty of securing the southern border.
Mr. Johnson, Louisiana Republican, said in a statement that if Senate Majority Leader Charles E. Schumer “cares about the Constitution and ending the devastation caused by Biden’s border catastrophe,” then he “will quickly schedule a full public trial and hear the arguments put forth by our impeachment managers.”
Mr. Schumer, New York Democrat, is not expected to hold a full trial but rather briefly convene to dismiss the articles with a simple majority vote or refer them to a committee to effectively quash them.
“As we have said previously, after the House impeachment managers present the articles of impeachment to the Senate, senators will be sworn in as jurors in the trial the next day,” Mr. Schumer’s office said. “Senate President Pro Tempore Patty Murray will preside.”
The articles were passed by the House on Feb. 13, making Mr. Mayorkas the first sitting Cabinet secretary to be impeached. The first impeachment vote attempt failed. The second passed, 214-213, with three Republicans siding with all Democrats in opposition.
However, the articles were not transmitted to the Senate because Congress had to first tackle several government funding deadlines.
White House spokesman Ian Sams on Thursday called the case against Mr. Mayorkas “phony” and listed past quotes from Republican senators made to reporters disparaging the impeachment.
In the days leading up to Mr. Mayorkas’ impeachment, several GOP senators told The Washington Times that they did not believe his handling of illegal immigration at the U.S.-Mexico border amounted to the disqualifying offense of high crimes and misdemeanors. Some Republicans, such as Utah Sen. Mitt Romney, could side with Democrats to scuttle the trial.
“He’s been derelict in his duty,” Sen. Lindsey Graham, South Carolina Republican, said at the time. “Whether it’s an impeachable offense, I don’t know.”
Sen. Thom Tillis of North Carolina, part of the Senate GOP leadership team, expressed distaste for “these snap impeachments that are effectively a vote of no confidence.”
Still, the proceeding has put a further spotlight on the Biden administration’s immigration policy, which polls show is a major issue for voters ahead of the November elections.
The House impeachment managers are Homeland Security Committee Chairman Mark Green of Tennessee, Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Michael McCaul of Texas, Rep. Andy Biggs of Arizona, Rep. Ben Cline of Virginia, Rep. Andrew Garbarino of New York, Rep. Michael Guest of Mississippi, Rep. Harriet Hageman of Wyoming, Rep. Clay Higgins of Louisiana, Rep. Laurel Lee of Florida, Rep. August Pfluger of Texas and Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia.