The House is scheduled to send the articles of impeachment of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas to the Senate on April 16, after being initially scheduled to do so on April 10.
The House impeached Mr. Mayorkas in February for what Republicans said was his refusal to enforce immigration law.
That refusal, they say, has led to a crisis at the southern border as millions of illegal immigrants have crossed it during President Joe Biden’s time in office.
The two impeachment articles are willful and systemic refusal to comply with the law, and breaching the public trust.
Mr. Mayorkas, according to the impeachment resolution, ignored or refused to enforce the law and blocked congressional oversight, including not producing requested copies of documents.
Article I of the measure accuses Mr. Mayorkas of a “willful and systemic refusal to comply with the law” and claims that “in large part because of his unlawful conduct, millions of aliens have illegally entered the United States on an annual basis with many unlawfully remaining in the United States.”
“His refusal to obey the law is not only an offense against the separation of powers in the Constitution of the United States, it also threatens our national security and has had a dire impact on communities across the country,” it reads.
Article II accuses Mr. Mayorkas of breaching the public trust by having “knowingly made false statements, and knowingly obstructed lawful oversight of the Department of Homeland Security, principally to obfuscate the results of his willful and systemic refusal to comply with the law.”
The Biden administration has slammed the impeachment.
“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,” Mia Ehrenberg, a Department of Homeland Security spokesperson, said in a statement after the vote.
“Without a shred of evidence or legitimate Constitutional grounds, and despite bipartisan opposition, House Republicans have falsely smeared a dedicated public servant who has spent more than 20 years enforcing our laws and serving our country.
“Secretary Mayorkas and the Department of Homeland Security will continue working every day to keep Americans safe.”
President Biden also decried the impeachment, calling it a “blatant act of unconstitutional partisanship” on the part of House Republicans, whom he accused of “playing politics with the border.”
House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) signed the articles of impeachment on April 15.
Ceremony From House to Senate
The solemn ceremony begins at the House chamber as the impeachment managers—who would argue the case against Mr. Mayorkas in the Senate trial—will walk with House Clerk Kevin McCumber, House Sergeant at Arms William McFarland, and Senate Sergeant at Arms Karen Gibson past Statuary Hall.The impeachment managers are House Homeland Security Committee Chairman Mark Green (R-Tenn.), House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Michael McCaul (R-Texas), Reps. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.), August Pfluger (R-Texas), Andy Biggs (R-Ariz.), Ben Cline (R-Va.), Andrew Garbarino (R-N.Y.), Clay Higgins (R-La.), Laurel Lee (R-Fla.), Michael Guest (R-Texas), and Harriet Hageman (R-Wyo.).
After walking through Statuary Hall, they will go past an entrance to Mr. Johnson’s speaker office and the Capitol Rotunda.
A few moments later, they will arrive at an entrance to the Senate chamber, where Ms. Gibson will announce the arrival of the impeachment articles.
What Will Likely Happen
On April 17, all 100 senators, who serve as jurors during impeachment trials, are expected to be sworn in as jurors.Senate President Pro Tempore Patty Murray (D-Wash.) will preside. However, the swearing-in could happen as soon as the upper congressional chamber receives the impeachment articles.
A two-thirds majority is required to convict and therefore remove from office.
However, the Senate will likely not continue the trial because Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) is expected to bring up a motion to table it, thereby ending it.
On April 9, Mr. Schumer hinted that he will do so.
“We’re going to move forward and resolve this as quickly as possible,” he told reporters. The swearing-in is compulsory, so the earliest that a trial can end is after that event.
A simple majority is required to end the trial.
Given that the Democrats control the Senate, it is unlikely that the motion will pass; if it doesn’t pass, that would make it the first time that the Senate has not held a full impeachment trial.
While the GOP is expected to bring up a point of order to proceed with the trial, that is set to fail.
In the end, while any impeachment is historical—especially with the ceremonial walk—this one is expected to be anticlimactic, and senators will then simply pick up where they left off before receiving the impeachment articles.
