The Senate will accept articles of impeachment against Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas next month, House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-Louisiana) told Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-Den.) on Thursday.
Mr. Johnson sent a letter to Mr. Schumer informing him that the House impeachment managers would send articles of impeachment to the chamber on April 10 and urging him to hold a trial “promptly.”
“As Speaker of the United States House of Representatives and Impeachment Managers, we plan to introduce duly passed articles of impeachment regarding Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas when the Senate returns on April 10, 2024. I am writing this letter to urge you to promptly schedule a trial in this matter,” Johnson wrote, along with the 11 Republicans chosen to serve as impeachment managers.
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Speaker Mike Johnson said he would send articles of impeachment against Homeland Security Secretary Mayorkas to the Senate on April 10.
The House impeached Mayorkas last month on two counts of failing to comply with and enforce existing laws and betraying the public’s trust.
“While in office, he repeatedly lied to Congress and the American people about the scope of the crisis and his role in it. His illegal actions have a history of devastating communities from the smallest towns on the border to communities across the country. “From Texas to New York City,” Johnson wrote. “The constitutional basis for Secretary Mayorkas’ conviction and removal from office is well-founded and the historical record is clear.”
Once formally delivered, the Senate must act on the provision promptly.
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Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumerhus criticized House Republicans for impeachment. (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)
Schumer has not said what he will do next, but his public criticism of the impeachment effort suggests he is likely to move to dismiss the trial. It simply requires a majority of 51 votes to do so.
Meanwhile, Senate Republicans are urging Schumer to proceed, but a conviction is highly unlikely.
“The Senate should conduct an impeachment trial against Secretary Mayorkas and investigate the full scope of this crisis before the American people,” Senate Minority Leader John Thune (R.S.D.) said in a public address earlier this month. mentioned in.
Last month, all but three House Republicans voted to impeach Mayorkas over his handling of the U.S. southern border. This is the first time since 1876 that a cabinet minister has been impeached.
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But House Republican leaders delayed sending the article to the Senate for several weeks as intense negotiations continue over how to fund the government for the remainder of fiscal year 2024.
Responding to a question about the delay at the House of Commons Republicans’ annual retreat earlier this month, Johnson told reporters: “The reason is that we’re in the middle of funding the government through the spending process, and how that process works.” It’s been there for a long time,” he said. The article of impeachment goes to the Senate, which has a short amount of time to act on it and did not want to disrupt Senate floor time or debate on spending because it would risk shutting down the government. ”
