Senate Republicans push for Mayorkas impeachment trial

More than 40 Senate Republicans lobbied Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer last week to hold a full impeachment trial for Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas.

Schumer and other Democrats have indicated they’d be open to immediately voting to dismiss the House-passed articles of impeachment rather than holding a trial in the Senate. The Republicans who signed the letter urged Schumer not to pursue that option, saying Mayorkas should be held accountable.

“In the face of the disaster that mounts daily at our southern border, and in communities across America, the House of Representatives has formally accused Alejandro Mayorkas of demeaning his office,” according to the letter signed by 43 Senate Republicans. “The American people deserve to hear the evidence through a Senate trial in the Court of Impeachment.”

Six Senate Republicans did not sign the letter: Sens. Bill Cassidy of Louisiana, Susan Collins of Maine, Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, Rand Paul of Kentucky, Mitt Romney of Utah and Tommy Tuberville of Alabama.

A simple majority of senators would be needed to approve a pretrial motion to dismiss. Democrats and independents who typically vote with them hold a 51-49 advantage in the chamber.

House Republicans failed to impeach Mayorkas on their first try and needed a second vote to approve the articles of impeachment against the Homeland Security chief. No Democrats voted in favor.

The two articles of impeachment accuse Mayorkas of a “willful and systemic refusal to comply with the law,” and a breach of public trust. Democrats say the charges are based on policy disputes rather than the “high crimes and misdemeanors” threshold of an impeachable offense.

House Speaker Mike Johnson,R-La., and 11 House Republican impeachment managers had planned to ceremoniously walk over the two articles of impeachment to the Senate on Wednesday, which would have forced Schumer to begin the impeachment process the following day. But at the request of Senate Republicans concerned with catching flights back home the same day proceedings would start, Johnson delayed the delivery.

In a Tuesday statement announcing the delay, a Johnson spokesperson also said the Senate should not dismiss the charges without a trial.

“To ensure the Senate has adequate time to perform its constitutional duty, the House will transmit the articles of impeachment to the Senate next week,” the Johnson spokesperson wrote in a statement. “There is no reason whatsoever for the Senate to abdicate its responsibility to hold an impeachment trial.”

The Senate Republicans who signed Thursday’s letter are:

Lindsey Graham of South Carolina

Mitch McConnell of Kentucky

John Thune of South Dakota

John Cornyn of Texas

Mike Lee of Utah

Ted Cruz of Texas

John Kennedy of Louisiana

John Barrasso of Wyoming

Marsha Blackburn of Tennessee

Ted Budd of North Carolina

Shelley Moore Capito of West Virginia

Tom Cotton of Arkansas

Mike Crapo of Idaho

Steve Daines of Montana

Deb Fischer of Nebraska

John Hoeven of North Dakota

Cindy Hyde-Smith of Mississippi

Jerry Moran of Kansas

Pete Ricketts of Nebraska

Michael Rounds of South Dakota

Marco Rubio of Florida

Eric Schmitt of Missouri

Dan Sullivan of Alaska

Thom Tillis of North Carolina

Roger Wicker of Mississippi

Josh Hawley of Missouri

John Boozman of Arkansas

Bill Hagerty of Tennessee

James Risch of Idaho

Cynthia Lummis of Wyoming

Tim Scott of South Carolina

Chuck Grassley of Iowa

Ron Johnson of Wisconsin

Markwayne Mullin of Oklahoma

Rick Scott of Florida

James Lankford of Oklahoma

Todd Young of Indiana

Katie Boyd Britt of Alabama

Joni Ernst of Iowa

J.D. Vance of Ohio

Roger Marshall of Kansas

Kevin Cramer of North Dakota

Mike Braun of Indiana

Louisiana Illuminator is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Louisiana Illuminator maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Greg LaRose for questions: info@lailluminator.com. Follow Louisiana Illuminator on Facebook and Twitter.