Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas likely won’t face the weekslong impeachment trial that former President Donald Trump did just a few years ago.
Rather, Senate Democrats are looking to quickly quash the two impeachment articles approved by the House Tuesday, potentially by voting to dismiss them. The first impeachment of a sitting Cabinet member in history was over his handling of southern border security and a record influx of illegal immigration.
Senate Majority Leader Charles E. Schumer has refused to say whether Democrats would seek to prevent a trial, a potential precedent-setting move for modern impeachments. Democrats could dismiss the two articles with a simple majority vote once the trial commences.
House impeachment managers will present the articles after the Senate returns from recess in the last week in February. Senators will be sworn in the following day as jurors for the trial, according to Mr. Schumer’s office.
“This sham impeachment effort is another embarrassment for House Republicans,” said Mr. Schumer, New York Democrat. “The one and only reason for this impeachment is for Speaker [Mike] Johnson to further appease Donald Trump.”
The Republican-led House passed the articles along party lines Tuesday with a razor-thin 214-213 vote. A week earlier, House Republicans fell two votes short due to a GOP absence and three Republicans who sided with Democrats.
The articles charge Mr. Mayorkas with “willfully” subverting the immigration system and breaching trust by lying to Congress and the public.
Avoiding a trial altogether would deny Republicans the opportunity to shine a spotlight on President Biden and his administration’s handling of a contentious issue ahead of the November elections. Polls show the border is top of voters’ minds.
U.S. Border Patrol saw a massive drop in arrests last month but were still historically high, down from nearly 250,000 in December to less than 125,000 in January.
Mr. Mayorkas denies any wrongdoing and argues he can’t properly secure the border without new congressional powers. Republicans vehemently reject that assertion, pointing to far lower illegal immigration levels under Mr. Trump.
In January 2020, for example, there were less than 30,000 illegal immigrants encountered by Border Patrol at the southern border.
Still, many Senate Republicans are also none too eager to draw out Mr. Mayorkas’ inevitable acquittal, raising questions about whether some may be willing to side with Democrats to potentially dismiss the articles. They argue that Mr. Mayorkas’ weak job performance does not rise to the level of high crimes and misdemeanors.
With government funding deadlines on March 1 and March 8 — mere days after the trial will commence — senators will also face pressure to rapidly conclude and avert shutdowns. Once a trial begins, no other legislative business can be conducted until its conclusion.
Several Republican senators, including key Trump allies and leadership members, previously told The Washington Times they weren’t giving much attention to the House’s impeachment or denied that Mr. Mayorkas has committed impeachable offenses.
GOP Sen. James Lankford of Oklahoma emphasized that Mr. Mayorkas’ handling of the border crisis is why he crafted a bipartisan deal with Democrats to stem the flow, which House and Senate Republicans soundly rejected.
“[The impeachment] will fail in the Senate. If I could use the House term, it’ll be ‘dead on arrival’ when it comes over,” Mr. Lankford said last week. “But it’ll still be the same policy. Even if Mayorkas left, we’re going to have the same result because we have the same president who is driving the policy.”
In the most recent Senate impeachment trial with Mr. Trump in the wake of the attack on the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, five Senate Republicans voted with all Democrats at the outset of the trial against a GOP motion to dismiss the charges.
Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, Georgia Republican who led the impeachment articles against Mr. Mayorkas, pitched to senators that they should take the trial seriously because it could have political ramifications at the ballot box.
“They should look at the polling. They know that our border security is the No. 1 issue in every single campaign, in every single state, in every single city and every single community, whether it’s New York City, Chicago or Atlanta,” Ms. Greene said. “They better pay attention to the American people and how they feel.”
— Stephen Dinan contributed to this report.