The GOP-led House has opted to delay sending impeachment articles against Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas over his handling of the border crisis to the Democrat-controlled Senate next week.
Instead of conducting the handoff on Wednesday — which was part of a plan announced two weeks ago — the lower chamber will now wait until at least Monday, according to the office of Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA).
“To ensure the Senate has adequate time to perform its constitutional duty, the House will transmit the articles of impeachment to the Senate next week,” Johnson spokesperson Taylor Haulsee said in a statement. “There is no reason whatsoever for the Senate to abdicate its responsibility to hold an impeachment trial.”
House lawmakers passed two impeachment articles in February that accuse Mayorkas of “willfully and systemically” refusing to comply with federal immigration laws, and the other alleged he “breached the public trust” with false statements and obstructing lawful oversight of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).
Although roughly two months have passed, Senate Republicans asked Johnson to delay sending over the articles until at least Monday to give them more time, Sen. John Kennedy (R-LA) said. His colleague, Sen. Mike Lee (R-UT), said he was grateful for Johnson’s “bold willingness” to delay the transfer.
“We don’t want this to come over on the eve of the moment when members might be operating under the influence of jet fume intoxication,” Lee said, suggesting that members would be eager to end the trial quickly. He added, “It’s much better for us to do this at the beginning of a legislative week than the end of one.”
There had been reporting that said Democrats expected to dismiss the impeachment charges before a full trial could take place and senators had the opportunity to vote on whether to convict or acquit Mayorkas.
“We’re going to try to resolve this issue as quickly as impossible. Impeachment should never be used to settle policy disagreements,” Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) told reporters on Wednesday. His office previously said senators would be sworn in as jurors a day after the House impeachment managers present their articles to the Senate and Senate President Pro Tempore Patty Murray (D-WA) would preside.
A two-thirds vote is required for a conviction, which would lead to removal from office. But the articles may not make it far with a motion to table, which, according to the Senate glossary, is “a proposal to set aside any pending question. Used to dispose of a question the Chamber does not want to consider further. Agreement to the motion is equivalent to defeating the question tabled.”
CLICK HERE TO GET THE DAILYWIRE+ APP
Democrats have criticized the impeachment proceedings as a “political stunt,” while Mayorkas pushed back against what he called “false accusations” levied against him. A DHS spokesperson reacted to the successful House impeachment vote by saying, “House Republicans will be remembered by history for trampling on the Constitution for political gain rather than working to solve the serious challenges at our border.”
Not every GOP senator appears to favor the impeachment effort. Sen. Mitt Romney (R-UT) declined to rule out supporting a motion to dismiss, according to The Hill. He said Mayorkas has been following the Biden administration’s border policy, which he added has “a huge damaging effect on the country — but it’s not a high crime or misdemeanor.”