(Luis Cornelio, Headline USA) House Republicans have pressured Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer to convene the Senate for the impeachment trial of Alejandro Mayorkas, the embattled DHS secretary.
The impeachment trial is scheduled to be held on April 10, after passing the House on Jan. 28.
This news follows Senate Democrats’ contemplation of potentially disregarding the House-passed impeachment of Mayorkas, who stands as the only cabinet secretary to achieve such a humiliating distinction since 1876.
However, directly addressing these allegations, House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., demanded in a letter to Schumer that the Senate hold a full trial and refrain from dismissing the charges preemptively.
“We call upon you to fulfill your constitutional obligation to hold his trial,” Johnson wrote in a two-page letter sent on Thursday. “The American people demand a secure border, an end to this crisis, and accountability for those responsible.”
Together with the 11 House impeachment managers, I sent a letter to Senator Schumer telling him we’ll deliver the articles of Secretary Mayorkas’ impeachment to the Senate on April 10th and that he must hold a full trial.
The American people deserve accountability. pic.twitter.com/HHchkcnJO9
— Speaker Mike Johnson (@SpeakerJohnson) March 28, 2024
Schumer released a statement responding to the impeachment demands, hinting at the next steps.
“As we have said previously, after the House impeachment managers present the articles of impeachment to the Senate, Senators will be sworn in as jurors in the trial the next day,” he said, according to the New York Post.
In the same statement, Schumer announced that Senate President Pro Tempore Patty Murray, D-Wash., will preside over the trial proceedings.
However, this does not necessarily mean that Americans will get to hear a trial, at least not just yet. According to the Post, one of the Democrats sworn in on the case could file a motion to dismiss the impeachment. To do so, Democrats only need a simple majority, which they already have.
Shortly after the impeachment, it wasn’t immediately clear when Schumer would bring the impeachment trial to the Senate as lawmakers grappled with impeding government spending bills seeking to prevent a government shutdown.
Mayorkas is Impeached by the People’s House.
Now, We the People shall see where Senate Democrats stand on accountability… pic.twitter.com/Kv1VMVmENH
— Rep. Clay Higgins (@RepClayHiggins) March 28, 2024
Mayorkas was impeached on two counts for his handling of the chaos currently embroiling the southern border.
One of the counts is related to his alleged refusal to uphold federal immigration law and deport illegal aliens from the nation. The second dealt with Mayorkas’s demonstrably false statements to Congress that the border was secure.
Such claims directly contradict the skyrocketing border crossings, encounters, and influx of illegal aliens into cities across the states.
The backlash stemming from the border chaos now threatens the re-election of President Joe Biden, who is also facing an impeachment inquiry on unrelated accusations.
