Cruz Says Senate Cannot Ignore Constitutional Process After Mayorkas Impeachment Tabled

Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) speaks during a news conference at the U.S. Capitol Building in Washington, on July 19, 2023. (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)

Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) is calling on the Senate to follow constitutional process after a vote on whether to proceed with an impeachment trial for Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas was tabled.

House Republicans impeached Mr. Mayorkas over several issues—chief among them being border security, as an unprecedented number of illegal immigrants have been crossing the southern border. The Senate is responsible for holding impeachment trials, which can result in a guilty charge or acquittal.

In a Feb. 18 interview on Fox News’ “Sunday Morning Futures,” Mr. Cruz claimed that suspending consideration of the House’s pending articles of impeachment has never happened in the entire history of the United States.

“In over 200 years of our nation’s history, the Senate has never once tabled articles of impeachment; that has never happened,” he said.

“Every single time, the Senate has voted on either guilt or innocence, or the House has withdrawn the impeachment.”

According to USAGov, an official U.S. federal government web portal, the House has initiated impeachment proceedings more than 60 times, with only 21 resulting in impeachments. This includes three presidents, one cabinet secretary, and one senator. So far, only eight people facing impeachment have been found guilty by the Senate and removed from office; all were federal judges.

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Mr. Cruz says this is the time for Republican leadership in the Senate to push the issue so the constitutional process for impeachment is followed correctly. Once taken up by the Senate, it will take a two-thirds vote from the Senate to convict Mr. Mayorkas. He could face removal from office and disqualification from holding public offices in the future if found guilty.

“If Republican leadership in the Senate doesn’t like the criticism, here’s an opportunity to demonstrate some backbone,” Mr. Cruz said.

“They could stand up and say, ‘Let’s have a trial.’ They could stand up and say, ‘You cannot refuse to even follow the constitutional process for impeachment; you can’t dodge responsibility; that’s what Schumer and the Democrats want to do,” he added.

Cruz Says Target on His Back in Upcoming Election

Two term incumbent Sen. Cruz is seeking a third term in office in the 2024 election on Nov. 5. But according to him, it will be an uphill battle because he has a target on his back.

“My race here in Texas is a battleground race; the Democrats are spending over $100 million, and George Soros is pouring millions into the state of Texas,” he said.

“In my last race, I won by less than three points because I’m the Democrat’s top target,” he added.

Overall though, Sen. Cruz believes the 2024 election cycle will be a significant positive for Republicans across the board, with a new president and a majority in the House and Senate.

“I believe November is going to be a very good election; I think we are going to see Donald Trump re-elected president of the United States,” he said.

“I think we are going to see Republicans keep and grow our majority in the House, and critically, I think we are going to win the United States Senate.”