The Senate dismissed both impeachment charges against Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas on Wednesday, curbing what Mayorkas spokesperson Mia Ehrenberg called "baseless attacks."
House Republicans led the partisan impeachment effort, which passed 214-213 in February, charging Mayorkas with “willful and systemic refusal to comply” and “ breach of public trust.”
The House of Representatives passed the two articles just days after Senate Republicans killed a bipartisan border deal that would have given the Department of Homeland Security more resources to secure the border.
In a 3-hour proceeding, the 51-member Democratic majority voted to dismiss both charges on Wednesday, concluding that the charges did not reach the magnitude of “high crimes and misdemeanors” outlined by the constitution and avoiding a trial.
Republicans in the chamber objected to the lack of a trial in the matter, with Eric Schmitt (R-MO) describing the vote as “unprecedented.” The dismissal isn’t fully unprecedented, though, as the GOP caucus in the Senate attempted a similar move in 2021, when all but 5 voted to kill the impeachment proceedings against President Trump.
“The majority leader’s position is asking members of this Senate to vote on political expediency to avoid listening to arguments,” Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX) said during debate.
Majority Leader Schumer (D-NY) argued that a trial would set a dangerous precedent in future politically-motivated impeachment proceedings.
“For the sake of the Senate’s integrity and to protect impeachment for those rare cases we truly need it, senators should dismiss today’s charges,” Schumer said.
