Senate set to sidestep Mayorkas trial

​​The impeachment of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas is set to hit a dead end this week as Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) prepares to do away with a trial, upsetting Republicans who wanted to highlight the administration’s handling of the border.

House Republicans impeached Mayorkas in mid-February, but the official transmission of the articles has been stuck in limbo while Congress worked to fund the government.

That will change when impeachment managers deliver the articles Wednesday, with Senate President Pro Tempore Patty Murray (D-Wash.) swearing in senators as jurors a day later and Schumer expected to dispense with them for good in short order. 

The Democratic leader has declined to say exactly how he plans to handle the articles of impeachment. His options include holding a vote to table or dismiss the articles or burying them by referring them to a special committee.

Members on both sides of the aisle expect him to avoid a trial.

“My expectation is when we get this, we will dispose of this pretty quickly,” Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Va.) said, relaying the message he got from Schumer recently, adding it remains unclear how the trial will be done away with. “We view it as a stunt. The Republicans view it as a stunt. That doesn’t mean some won’t vote for it, but no one views this as serious.”

House Republicans accused Mayorkas of “high crimes and misdemeanors,” including “willful and systemic refusal to comply with the law and his breach of the public trust” — both charges the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) strenuously denies.

“Without a shred of evidence or legitimate Constitutional grounds, and despite bipartisan opposition, House Republicans have falsely smeared a dedicated public servant who has spent more than 20 years enforcing our laws and serving our country,” the DHS said in a statement last month.

Democrats have consistently bashed Mayorkas’s impeachment and are largely in lockstep behind whatever Schumer chooses to do.

“In a heartbeat,” said Sen. Dick Durbin (Ill.), the No. 2 Senate Democrat, when asked whether he would vote to dismiss proceedings. “This is ridiculous. Even, I think, the House Republicans have lost their interest in it. … These are supposed to be high crimes and misdemeanors. Really? Which one? They don’t have any specifics.”

Democrats are widely expected to have the requisite 51 votes to table or dismiss the articles. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) admitted as much to reporters last week in his home state.

“Schumer will be able to file a motion to dismiss or table. I expect he will do that,” McConnell said. “And the Democrats have a majority, so it may not go on very long.”

Durbin, the top Democratic vote wrangler, added that he isn’t sure yet if they have 51 votes on their side to dismiss a trial, but he hasn’t heard of any dissension on his side of the aisle.

Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) has described the impeachment effort against Mayorkas as “pure crap,” while Sen. Jon Tester (D-Mont.) has already said he is in favor of dismissing the articles. 

Sen. Kyrsten Sinema (Ariz.), an independent who usually votes with the Democrats, has not commented on the possibility of a Mayorkas trial. A Sinema spokesperson pointed to her policy of not previewing her votes.

A big question revolving around the Mayorkas impeachment is whether there will be any political consequences for Tester, Sen. Sherrod Brown (Ohio) and other incumbent Democrats up for reelection in the fall if they vote against a trial.

Republicans, who are making immigration and border issues a top talking point on the campaign trail, are spending heavily to attack Democrats on the subject, and they believe a vote to do away with the articles plays right into their hands.

“Apparently, they don’t think it’s worth their time,” Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) told The Hill. “And they’d certainly like to avoid the embarrassment of going through the failure after failure of the Biden administration and Secretary Mayorkas when it comes to simply enforcing the law.”

Most Senate Republicans have lined up behind a trial in order to further highlight the Biden administration’s handling of the border, including leadership. McConnell said last week that his “preference would be to actually have a trial,” but he noted the numbers would suggest otherwise. 

But some Republicans have yet to throw their weight behind a trial. Sen. Mitt Romney (R-Utah) has indicated he could support a motion to dismiss, while a handful of GOP members are considered up for grabs.

Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.), an ally of leadership, said Monday that he has not yet made up his mind on a possible trial. 

Heritage Action on Monday issued a call for senators to vote against Schumer’s expected push to dismiss the trial, which top Senate conservatives have backed up. 

“The Senate has an obligation to vote on articles of impeachment,” Sens. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) and Mike Lee (R-Utah) wrote in a Wall Street Journal op-ed, noting that Republicans “respected” the process when former President Trump was impeached by House Democrats in 2019, and they were in the majority of the upper chamber. 

“We fulfilled our constitutional duty and held a full trial on the floor. Now that the shoe is on the other foot, Senate Democrats are trying to destroy yet another precedent and further politicize the impeachment process,” they wrote. “Democrats will shatter another norm and set a dangerous precedent that they’re going to regret.”