House Delays Mayorkas Impeachment Trial Until Next Week

House Republicans plan to advance an impeachment resolution of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas to the Senate next week. This decision follows a request from Senate GOP members for a delay to build a stronger case regarding his handling of border security. However, Mayorkas is unlikely to lose his job in the Democratic-controlled Senate.

Taylor Haulsee, a spokesperson for House Majority Leader Mike Johnson, R-La., stated Tuesday afternoon that the House’s impeachment resolution will move to the Senate next week to “ensure the Senate has adequate time to perform its constitutional duty.”

Senate Republicans had requested a delay of at least a week to prepare for a full Senate trial against Mayorkas, which was originally scheduled to move to the Senate on Wednesday.

Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, chairman of the Senate Steering Committee, expressed gratitude for the delay, stating that it is “much better” to hold a Senate vote at the beginning of the week instead of rushing to a vote before the weekend.

In February, the House narrowly impeached Mayorkas in a 214-213 vote, with three Republicans joining 210 Democrats present to impeach Mayorkas. However, his acquittal in the Senate is almost certain, as Senate Republicans need a two-thirds majority to oust him from his position.

Mayorkas, the first sitting cabinet secretary to be impeached, has faced mounting criticism from Republicans. They argue that he failed to comply with federal law by not detaining undocumented immigrants and breached public trust by failing to uphold “operational control” of the southern border.

Sen. Roger Marshall, R-Kan., argued on Tuesday that the Senate “has a responsibility to hold [Mayorkas] accountable and begin his impeachment trial.” Meanwhile, Sen. John Kennedy, R-La., pushed for Mayorkas’ conviction in the Senate, claiming that “the border crisis is bringing death, drugs, violence, chaos, criminals, and mayhem into American neighborhoods.”

Surprisingly, while a group of far-right Republicans had led the charge for months to take action against Mayorkas over the Biden Administration’s handling of a surge in migrant crossings at the U.S.-Mexico border, Republicans’ previous bid to impeach Mayorkas failed in the House in a 215-215 tie. The first vote initially appeared to have enough votes to advance to the Senate, but Republicans’ hopes were dashed after Rep. Blake Moore, R-Utah, changed his “yea” vote to a “nay” vote at the last minute to stave off impeachment, hoping to reintroduce a follow-up measure at a later date.

Senate Democrats have criticized the articles of impeachment against Mayorkas. Sen. Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., told reporters on Tuesday that “impeachment should never be used to settle policy disagreements,” calling the impeachment “absurd” and arguing that “there are no charges in the House complaint that rise to the level of impeachment.