House plans to send Mayorkas impeachment articles to Senate on Tuesday

Source: Roll Call

Posted April 12, 2024 at 3:48pm


The House plans to deliver impeachment articles for Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas to the Senate Tuesday afternoon, after a delay sparked by Senate Republican efforts to ensure an impeachment trial. Senate Democrats have said they plan to quickly dismiss or otherwise dispense with the two articles of the historic impeachment of a sitting Cabinet secretary for “willful and systemic refusal to comply with the law” and “breach of public trust” tied to the Biden administration’s immigration policies.

House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., initially planned to deliver the articles April 10, but announced the delay after a request from Senate Republicans who have sought to muster enough support to force the Senate to hold a trial. A Johnson spokesman confirmed the articles would be sent Tuesday. Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, one of the leading advocates for a trial, told reporters Tuesday that waiting until the next week would allow senators to debate the impeachment while not dealing with “jet fume intoxication” on the day senators usually go home.

In a floor speech Thursday, Senate Majority Leader Charles E. Schumer, D-N.Y., said he had not changed his plans to deal with the impeachment articles shortly after they are sent to the chamber. “The Senate is ready to go, whenever the House is. We want to address the issue as expeditiously as possible,” Schumer said. “As I said yesterday, impeachment should never be used to settle policy disagreements. That sets an awful precedent.”

Schumer’s office has said that the day after the articles arrive, senators will be sworn in as jurors and Senate President Pro Tempore Patty Murray, D-Wash., would preside over the chamber. Senators on both sides of the aisle have said they expect Democrats to offer a procedural motion to dismiss or table the charges, however Schumer has declined to answer when asked about specifics.

Read more: https://rollcall.com/2024/04/12/house-plans-to-send-mayorkas-impeachment-articles-to-senate-on-tuesday/