House Delivers Impeachment Articles Against Mayorkas, Calling for a Trial

After two months of delay, Home Republicans on Tuesday delivered articles of impeachment towards Alejandro N. Mayorkas, the homeland safety secretary, to the Senate, as they demanded a full trial of the primary sitting cupboard secretary to be impeached by Congress.

Constitutional students have referred to as the case towards Mr. Mayorkas groundless, and the Democrats who management the Senate have made it clear that they wish to curtail a prolonged trial in favor of a fast vote to dismiss the costs towards him. However Republicans have pushed forward with the articles, which accuse the secretary of willfully refusing to implement border legal guidelines and breaching the general public belief.

“For the final almost 4 years, we’ve seen Secretary Mayorkas willfully cede operational management of our border to drug cartels,” Speaker Mike Johnson stated on Tuesday, describing the chaos on the nation’s southern border as he urged the Senate to take up the case.

“We’ve seen exploding numbers of terrorists being encountered on the border,” he added. “We’ve seen gang members and folks with legal backgrounds be launched into our nation. We’ve seen fentanyl flood over the border.”

He accused Mr. Mayorkas and President Biden of deliberately failing of their duties to safe the border.

“He and Joe Biden engineered this disaster,” Mr. Johnson stated. “They allowed it. They apparently desired it.”

On Tuesday afternoon, the 11 Home Republicans named to prosecute the case towards Mr. Mayorkas made the ceremonial stroll throughout the Capitol to current the costs, which they learn aloud on the ground as all senators sat silently at their desks.

The Republican case towards Mr. Mayorkas doesn’t accuse him of any particular legal conduct, however relatively quantities to an try to fireplace an administration official who’s imposing insurance policies they oppose and who they argue is failing at his job. That may be a far cry from the “excessive crimes and misdemeanors” specified by the Structure as the premise for an impeachment.

The Home barely authorised the articles in February over unanimous Democratic opposition, after they have been initially defeated as a result of not sufficient Republicans have been current within the intently divided chamber to push them via. Since then, G.O.P. leaders have delayed sending them to the Senate, toiling to search out the correct second to start a continuing that’s all however sure to outcome of their effort to take away Mr. Mayorkas failing.

A two-thirds majority could be wanted to convict him within the Senate, an unachievable threshold on condition that Democrats are solidly opposed.

Senior Senate Republicans and Democrats have been negotiating on Tuesday over how one can construction the trial, which is to formally begin on Wednesday afternoon when senators are sworn in as jurors. They have been discussing permitting Republicans to debate and supply a sequence of procedural objections on Wednesday earlier than Mr. Schumer moved to dismiss the 2 prices. However such an settlement would require all members to go alongside, even these lifeless set on a trial, and it was not clear whether or not Republicans would search to extend the proceedings.

“Impeachment ought to by no means be used to settle a coverage disagreement,” Senator Chuck Schumer, Democrat of New York and the bulk chief, stated on Tuesday earlier than the costs have been transmitted. “Speak about terrible precedents. This might set an terrible precedent for Congress. Each time there’s a coverage disagreement within the Home, they ship it over right here and tie the Senate in knots to do an impeachment trial? That’s absurd. That’s an abuse of the method. That’s extra chaos.”

At a information convention after the articles have been delivered, Republicans from each chambers dared Democrats to permit a trial that may spotlight the problems affecting the border.

“We’re able to go, Mr. Schumer,” stated Consultant Andy Biggs of Arizona, one of many impeachment managers. “We’re able to go.”

For his half, Mr. Mayorkas has spent months basically ignoring the case and persevering with to work. He negotiated a border safety take care of each Senate Republicans and Democrats that fell aside after former President Donald J. Trump opposed it.

“After I say that I’m not centered on the impeachment proceedings, I truly imply it,” Mr. Mayorkas stated in an interview. “I’ll say this, that it’s my hope that my time shouldn’t be taken away from my work.”

On Tuesday, Mr. Mayorkas started his day on Capitol Hill speaking about his company’s price range request and calling on Congress to supply the division with extra sources to implement border legal guidelines, rent extra personnel and move the laws he negotiated.

He stated that previously 11 months, his company has returned or eliminated greater than 630,000 folks from the nation who didn’t have a authorized foundation to remain.

“Our immigration system, nonetheless, is basically damaged,” he stated. “Solely Congress can repair it. Congress has not up to date our immigration enforcement legal guidelines since 1996 — 28 years in the past.”

Senator Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, the highest Republican within the Senate, slammed Mr. Schumer’s plans to dismiss the case.

“By no means earlier than has the Senate agreed to a movement to desk articles of impeachment,” Mr. McConnell stated. “Not for an officer of both social gathering. Not as soon as.”

He added that “it will be beneath the Senate’s dignity to shrug off our clear duty and fail to offer the costs we’ll hear as we speak the thorough consideration they deserve.”

Mr. McConnell didn’t point out that he voted in favor of an unsuccessful effort in 2021 to dismiss a second impeachment case towards Mr. Trump over the Jan. 6 assault on the Capitol earlier than the Senate held a trial.

Among the many Republicans Mr. Johnson appointed as impeachment managers are Representatives Mark E. Inexperienced of Tennessee, the Homeland Safety Committee chairman, and Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia, who pushed the convention to question Mr. Mayorkas.

Mia Ehrenberg, a spokeswoman for the Division of Homeland Safety, blasted the impeachment effort.

“Regardless of warnings from fellow Republicans that this baseless impeachment effort ‘distorts the Structure,’ Home Republicans proceed to disregard the information and undermine the Structure by losing much more time on this sham impeachment within the Senate,” she stated in an announcement.