The House of Representatives is currently impeaching Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas.
Think of impeachment as an indictment. It is the role of the Senate to function as a “court” and decide whether a defendant is guilty in a trial.
Impeachment of a cabinet minister is rare. The House of Representatives is currently impeaching multiple presidents and federal judges. However, Mr. Mayorkas had only one Cabinet member before him. It was Secretary of War William Belknap in 1876.
Don’t expect anything to start until late February or early March. The House of Representatives will send the articles of impeachment and the House’s “person in charge” to the Senate to formally begin the trial.
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“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.
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 escorted the articles of impeachment and House managers across the Capitol Rotunda 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:
“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 usually all they do on the first day of a Senate trial, but FOX was told that the Senate may try to combine everything into one day.
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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 opening day.
According to Senate rules, the trial must begin at 1 p.m. the day after the Senate receives the articles. The trial is scheduled to run from Monday to Saturday. Former President Trump’s impeachment trials in 2020 and 2021 both opened on Saturday.
CONWAY, SC – FEBRUARY 10: Republican presidential candidate and former President Donald attends a speech at the Get Out The Vote campaign rally held at Coastal Carolina University on Saturday, February 10, 2024 in Conway, South Carolina.・Mr. Trump gives a speech. (Photo by Jabin Botsford/The Washington Post, Getty Images)
U.S. Chief Justice John Roberts is unlikely to preside over a potential 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.
Now we come to perhaps the most interesting question. How long is the trial?
The Senate cannot immediately avoid a trial. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer of New York announced that Mayorkas’ trial will begin in late February. The House of Representatives has named 11 impeachment managers. The senators will be sworn in as jurors.
Senators can decide whether to hold a full trial, potentially move to remove him from office, or actually vote directly for or against Mr. Mayorkas’ guilt or innocence. The Senate could also send the article to a committee for review.
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During former President Clinton’s 1998 impeachment trial, the late Sen. Robert Byrd (D-Virginia) filed a motion to dismiss the charges.
WASHINGTON — DECEMBER 19: President Bill Clinton reacts to his impeachment by the House of Representatives outside the Oval Office in the White House Rose Garden on December 19, 1998 in Washington, DC. (LR), House Minority Leader John Podesta, Minority Leader Richard Gephardt, Clinton, Vice President Al Gore, and First Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton. (David Hume Kennerley/Getty Images)
The final vote will be whether to find Mayorkas guilty or not guilty or to dismiss the charges. Senate Republicans are watching very closely to see if Senate Democrats engineer a vote to skip the trial. Republicans will be watching how several vulnerable Democrats who face re-election races in battleground districts vote.
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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.), The trial-related votes of Sen. Jacky Rosen (Democratic Party) will be investigated. -Nevada) and Kyrsten Sinema (Arizona) – If she runs.
But the Senate must consider the article for at least a day or two before making any decision.
