The House Impeached Mayorkas—What’s Next?

A number of Republicans have expressed opposition, calling the impeachment articles ‘dead on arrival’ in the upper chamber.

U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas during a news conference in Las Vegas, Nev., on Feb. 7, 2024. Patrick T. Fallon/AFP via Getty Images

On Feb. 13, House Republicans succeeded in their second attempt to impeach Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas.

The House adopted articles of impeachment against the embattled DHS chief in response to allegations that his policies are directly responsible for the crisis at the southern border.

The vote was purely party-line, passing by a thin margin of one vote, 214–213. Three Republicans, Reps. Mike Gallagher (R-Wis.), Tom McClintock (R-Calif.), and Ken Buck (R-Colo.), voted against the measure.

After the vote, Rep. Troy Nehls (R-Texas) told The Epoch Times that the impeachment was “a beautiful thing and long overdue.”

Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.), one of the most outspoken proponents of impeachment, said she was thrilled with the outcome.

“Well, it’s definitely a historic day, impeaching Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas,” Ms. Greene told reporters on the Capitol steps following the vote.

“I’m very thankful to our Republican conference for finally working together and standing with the American people to send the message to the Biden administration that it’s our border that matters, not other countries’ borders; our border matters.”

The House’s vote to impeach the DHS chief means that the issue will now head to the Senate for further litigation.

But with the Senate held by Democrats, who unanimously opposed the measure in the House, it seems overwhelmingly likely that Mr. Mayorkas will be acquitted of the charges in the upper chamber—if they’re considered there at all.

Here’s what could happen with Mr. Mayorkas’s articles of impeachment in the coming weeks.

Senate Trial

The usual consequence of a House vote to impeach is a trial in the U.S. Senate.

Impeachment is identified as a key prerogative of Congress in the Constitution, and according to the Constitution, those impeached by the House face trial in the Senate, where a two-thirds majority of members has to agree that a removable offense has been committed to boot an executive or judicial officer out of their post.

If the Senate were to go this route, the allegations against Mr. Mayorkas would be read, considered, and debated by members of the upper chamber.

If, after this process, two-thirds agreed Mr. Mayorkas had committed a removable offense, he would be removed from office.

The last time a member of the presidential Cabinet was impeached was in the 1870s. However, those articles of impeachment never came to the Senate for a trial after their target resigned.

Likewise, President Richard Nixon also chose to resign rather than become the first president removed from office by the Senate.

Presidents Bill Clinton and Donald Trump did face trial in the Senate but were ultimately acquitted.

In a Senate trial, the House majority would send members over to make the House’s best argument for impeachment. Ms. Greene would be among the House’s impeachment managers for Mr. Mayorkas’s Senate trial.

If the charges against Mr. Mayorkas do come to the Senate floor for a formal trial, he will almost certainly be acquitted because of universal Democratic opposition to his removal from office.

Even Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.), the most conservative Democratic senator, has expressed opposition.

Some Republicans, including Sens. Mitt Romney (R-Utah) and James Lankford (R-Okla.), have expressed opposition, calling the impeachment articles “dead on arrival” in the upper chamber.

Sidestepping the Issue

Facing bleak prospects in the Senate, and with many senators far from enthusiastic about touching the thorny issue, the Senate could sidestep the issue altogether.

There are a few procedural ways it could do this.

First and simplest, an opponent of the measure could simply offer a motion to dismiss the charges. Senate rules on impeachment leave the Senate with a great deal of latitude in how it conducts impeachment trials.

Such a motion would need only a simple majority of senators to pass—a simple majority it would be all but certain to receive.

On the other hand, Democrats could be less than enthusiastic to take this approach, as it could indicate indifference to the border issue, which has become a top priority for voters in recent months.

President Joe Biden greets Homeland Security Secretary (DHS) Alejandro Mayorkas as he arrives to speak at the DHS 20th Anniversary Ceremony at DHS headquarters in Washington on March 1, 2023. Brendan Smialowski/AFP via Getty Images

Alternatively, Democrats could raise a point of order against the charges.

That was the avenue taken by Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) during President Trump’s second impeachment trial.

On that occasion, Mr. Paul raised the point that President Trump, no longer being in office at the time, couldn’t be removed from office, making the proceedings moot.

The Senate ultimately rejected Mr. Paul’s bid.

Finally, Democrats could seek to move the motion to a committee for consideration, avoiding a high-profile trial on the Senate floor. Should a trial happen, however, it’s likely to end in Mr. Mayorkas’s acquittal.