It took just 20 minutes for the Democrats in the U.S. Senate to throw out the first of two impeachment charges brought by House Republicans against Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas.
Although Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, a Democrat, said on Wednesday there would be debate, there was no debate and Schumer declared the articles of impeachment did not qualify as high crimes or misdemeanors.
On the first article of impeachment, “Willful and systemic refusal to comply with the law, all Democrats voted to dismiss. The final vote on the first impeachment charge was 51-48, with Alaska Sen. Lisa Murkowski, a nominal Republican, voting “present.” Her vote would not have swung the decision, but would have made the vote 51-49. Murkowski is in a phase of her career where she is continually distancing herself from Republicans.
Prior to the vote, Sen. Dan Sullivan said the articles delivered by the House are “thorough, compelling, and damning. The American people need to hear the evidence underlying these impeachment articles. Chuck Schumer has a constitutional duty to move forward with a Senate trial.”
At issue is the wide-open border policy of the Biden Administration, which has allowed between 7 million and 9 million illegal immigrants into the country in the three years that Joe Biden has been president. Mayorkas is in charge of securing the border.
Motions by Republicans to proceed with the trial were rebuffed.
Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas said Sen. Schumer of New York has “argued that Secretary Mayorkas’ defiance of federal immigration law and active aiding and abetting of the worst criminal invasion in our nation’s history does not constitute a high crime or misdemeanor. He has presented no argument on that question. He’s presented no briefing on that question and his position is directly contrary to the original understanding of the Constitution at the time it was ratified and to the explicit position of the Biden Department of Justice has argued before the Supreme Court.”
His motion, like others from Republicans, was defeated by a vote along party lines of 51-49. Murkowski voted with Republicans on several of their motions.
Republican Minority Leader Sen. Mitch McConnell of Kentucky argued that the Senate itself had sworn an oath to “impartial justice according to the Constitution and the laws of our country. We swore to discharge a duty that is quite different from our normal work. As a court of impeachment, we’re called not to speak, not to debate, but to listen to the case against the accused and to his defense.”
McConnell continued, “At this point, in any trial in the country the prosecution presents the evidence of the case, counsel for the defense does the same, and the jury remains silent as it listens. This is what our rules require of us as well, but the Senate has not had the opportunity to perform this duty.”
Under Schumer’s leadership, McConnell said, “the Senate will not hear the House managers present the details of their case against Secretary Mayorkas that he willingly neglected the duties of his office and that he lied to Congress about the extent of that failure. Likewise, we will not hear the secretary’s representatives present the vigorous defense to which he’s entitled.”
The second impeachment article failed along party lines, with Murkowski voting with Republicans.
