The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the House trying to impeach Mayorkas next week

House Republicans aim to begin debate and vote on impeaching Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas in earnest next week.

As of this Friday, the House Rules Committee has not officially placed impeachment on Monday’s schedule. But Foxx has reportedly been told that could happen over the weekend if Republicans are satisfied with the number of whips on the impeachment charge. At this point, the Rules Committee only plans to prepare a floor water permit bill at Monday’s meeting. The two articles of impeachment must be submitted to the Rules Committee before heading to the floor.

If the Rules Committee drafts articles of impeachment on Monday, the full House could debate and vote on Mayorkas’ impeachment as early as Tuesday. If the Rules Committee meeting is pushed back to Tuesday, floor action against Mayorkas would likely be moved to Wednesday.

And even if the Rules Committee convenes against Mr. Mayorkas, the House does not necessarily need to immediately bring articles of impeachment to the floor if senior Republicans are concerned about the vote count.

Articles of impeachment against Mayorkas approved by committee, full house vote set.

Whether you go to the floor or not is a mathematical decision.

New York State Representative Brian Higgins resigned Friday to run an arts organization in Western New York. When the House returns on Monday, there will be 431 members, 219 Republicans and 212 Democrats. This is a majority of 7 seats. And Higgins’ retirement will help Republicans navigate their impeachment efforts. The seven-seat difference between the majority and minority would allow Republicans to lose three votes to their side and still pass something without Democratic support. There was a two-vote margin for Higgins to resign.

But it’s more complicated than that.

It is doubtful whether House Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-Louisiana) will return next week after undergoing cancer treatment. Kentucky Republican Rep. Hal Rogers should be reinstated after being injured in a car accident. However, there are always a few members who are absent on any given day due to health or other reasons. So if Republicans go to the floor to impeach Mayorkas, they need to make sure everyone in favor of impeachment is present. Colorado Republican Rep. Ken Buck is currently saying no. Johnson told FOX Business Friday morning that he will work on developing his back this weekend.

So if things go as Republican leaders plan, the House could vote to impeach Mayorkas on Tuesday or Wednesday. Unless the leadership passes impeachment, the calculation will not hold true.

Keep in mind that if for some reason the House does not vote on the impeachment resolution next week, the Republican victory could be better or worse.

House Majority Leader Steve Scalise will return next week after completing cancer treatment. (Anna Moneymaker)

A special election will be held in New York on February 13th to replace ousted former Congressman George Santos (RN.Y.). Former Congressman Tom Suozzi (RN.Y.) is running against Republican candidate Maji Melesa Pilip. If Suozzi wins, the Republican majority will shrink again. However, Pilip’s victory will help the Republicans.

Hesitant Republicans could derail Mayorkas’ impeachment effort

If the House votes, two articles of impeachment will be considered. Some have accused Mayorkas of ignoring the law. Another accuses Mayorkas of lying to Congress about the border being secure.

The House is likely to vote on each provision separately. If the House adopts either article, Mayorkas would be impeached. Moreover, the House does not always approve both articles of impeachment in such inquests. In 1997, the House of Representatives adopted only two of the four articles of impeachment against former President Clinton.

Think of impeachment as an indictment. The Senate would then act as a “tribunal” and decide whether the defendant is guilty at trial.

Impeachment of a cabinet minister is rare. The House of Representatives is currently impeaching multiple presidents and federal judges. However, the only Cabinet member was Secretary of War William Belknap in 1876.

A special election will be held in New York on February 13th to replace expelled former Congressman George Santos. (Tom Williams)

If the House approves the articles of impeachment, it must then hold another vote to appoint “impeachment managers.” The impeachment bill will then be sent to the Senate.

“Impeachment managers” are members of the House of Representatives who serve as prosecutors. They will submit the House’s findings to the Senate. Senators are seated as jurors.

Foxx reportedly said the House hopes to send articles of impeachment to the Senate soon after the vote. The Senate is set to consider a major border security bill next week. That could cause some gridlock in Congress, as the Senate could work on both the border bill and possibly the start of a Senate trial. However, it is possible that the trial could wait until the week of February 11th.

T, his scenario produces a pretty shocking split screen. The Senate is considering a border security bill while an impeachment trial against the Secretary of Homeland Security is ongoing.

Ohio Senate candidate says it would be “unthinkable” and “grotesquely unqualified” for Republicans to impeach “traitor” Mayorkas

There is a small ceremony in which articles of impeachment are sent from the House of Representatives to the Senate, and the Senate receives them. In this case, Acting House Clerk Kevin McCumber and House Sergeant-at-Arms William McFarland will escort the articles of impeachment and House managers across the Capitol dome to the Senate. The Senate normally meets with all senators sitting at desks. Senate Sergeant at Arms Karen Gibson then greets his House aides at the Senate entrance and reads the following proclamation to the Senate:

Migrants who crossed the border from Mexico into the United States through the Rio Bravo River wait next to the U.S. border wall guarded by U.S. Border Patrol in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, March 30, 2023. ing. (Getty Images)

“All persons are ordered to remain silent on pain of imprisonment while the House of Representatives submits articles of impeachment against Alejandro Nicolas Mayorkas to the United States Senate.”

The article will then be submitted to the Senate and the manager will be introduced. That’s all that usually happens on the first day of a Senate trial, although Foxx was told the Senate might try to squeeze everything.

Under Senate Impeachment Trial Rule III, the Senate impeachment body is supposed to wait until the next day to swear in senators as jurors. But Fox has been told that in this case, that could happen on the first day.

According to Senate rules, the “trial” must begin the day after the Senate receives the articles at 1 p.m. The trial is scheduled to run from Monday to Saturday. Former President Trump’s impeachment trials were held on Saturdays in both 2020 and 2021.

U.S. Chief Justice John Roberts is unlikely to preside over Mr. Mayorkas’ trial. Article 4 of the Senate Impeachment Rules requires the chief justice to preside over cases involving the president or vice president. In this case, Senate President Pro Tempore Patty Murray (D-Wash.) would likely preside over the Mayorkas court.

Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas testifies before the House Homeland Security Committee at the Capitol in Washington, D.C. (Sarah Silbiger)

Now we move on to perhaps the most interesting question. “How long is the trial?”

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D.N.Y.) dodged your exact question last fall about what a potential impeachment trial for President Biden or President Mayorkas would look like.

Asked this week if he would “hold” a trial, Schumer again dodged the question. “Let’s wait and see what the House does,” Schumer responded.

But nevertheless, the Senate cannot immediately avoid a trial. If the House impeaches, the Senate would receive at least the articles of impeachment and would be required to swear in the House managers and senators.

At that point, the Senate could decide whether to hold a full trial, possibly move to remove Mr. Mayorkas from office, or vote directly up or down on whether to actually convict or acquit him.

During former President Clinton’s 1998 impeachment trial, the late Virginia Democratic Sen. Robert Byrd filed a motion to dismiss the charges.

In 2010, the Senate was about to begin an impeachment trial of former federal judge Samuel Kent, but he resigned after the House impeached him and before the Senate could begin the trial. The House of Representatives notified the Senate that it did not wish to proceed with the trial. So the Senate ultimately voted to relieve Kent of liability.

Schumer dodged the question this week when asked if he would “hold” a trial. “Let’s wait and see what the House does,” Schumer responded. (Tom Williams)

The Senate could do the same this time around.

But here’s the problem. The final vote will be to convict or acquit Mayorkas, or to dismiss the charges against him. Senate Republicans are watching very closely to see if Senate Democrats engineer a vote to skip the trial. Republicans will be watching to see how several vulnerable Democrats who face re-election races in battleground districts vote.

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

If they vote to end the trial or acquit Mayorkas, Republicans are likely to incorporate it into their campaigns against Democratic senators. Remember, Fox polling data reveals that border security is the No. 1 issue facing voters in Iowa and New Hampshire. The Republicans are Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio), Sen. Jon Tester (D-Mont.), Sen. Bob Casey (D-Pennsylvania), Sen. Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.), and Sen. Jacky Rosen. (Nevada Democratic Party)’s court-related votes. Kyrsten Sinema, Arizona. – Once she runs.

But first we need to see if the House has the votes it needs to impeach. Everything depends on it.