The United States Senate was supposed to hold the impeachment trial of Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas beginning at 1 PM Eastern Wednesday. It actually proved to be a historically rapid dismissal by the Democrats.
As The Washington Post reported, the Senate at Majority Leader Chuck Schumer’s (D-NY) urging voted to dismiss both articles of impeachment against Mayorkas, who has presided over the worst border crisis in America history.
Democrats voted along party lines on the first article of impeachment which charges Mayorkas with “willful and systemic refusal to comply with the law,” finding the charge unconstitutional. Sen. Lisa Murkowski (RINO-Alaska) voted present.
51-48-1, Senate votes to kill the first impeachment article. Murkowski lone defector. She voted “present.” Schumer now wants to move to kill second impeachment article.
— Manu Raju (@mkraju) April 17, 2024
Democrats then found the second article charging Mayorkas with “breach of public trust” to be unconstitutional. Murkowski voted with her GOP colleagues this time.
Senate kills second article of impeachment against Mayorkas, it goes down on a 51-49 party-line vote. Murkowski sides with Rs after voting “present” on the first article
— Manu Raju (@mkraju) April 17, 2024
They then voted to end the impeachment “trial” completely, again on a party-line vote.
BREAKING: The Senate has voted 51-49 to adjourn the impeachment trial of Sec. Mayorkas, ending the impeachment. pic.twitter.com/Sel3BLFZD0
— MSNBC (@MSNBC) April 17, 2024
As Townhall.com’s Spencer Brown notes, this move by the Senate upset 227 years of congressional history. Only once was an actual trial not held when an individual was impeached, and that was because an impeached judge resigned before the trial began.
From Townhall.com:
Last week, 43 Republican members of the United States signed a letter to Schumer highlighting the upper chamber’s “constitutional duty” that “requires the Senate to hold a trial.”
“In every previous congressional impeachment of the past 227 years, Congress has been faithful to the process set out by the framers,” the letter emphasized. “Never before has the Senate abandoned this duty, even when certain members believed the basis for impeachment was tenuous at best.”
“Since 1797, twenty-one individuals have been impeached by the House of Representatives,” the Senate Republicans’ letter further recounted. “Trials were held in every single instance, except once when an impeached judge resigned from office before the trial commenced. Absent Secretary Mayorkas’ immediate resignation, this impeachment should remain faithful to Senatorial precedent,” senators wrote.