FILE - Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas appears before the Homeland Security Subcommittee on Capitol Hill, April 10, 2024, in Washington. House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-la., says he is sending impeachment charges against Mayorkas to the Senate on Tuesday, April 16, forcing senators to convene a trial on the allegations that Mayorkas has"willfully and systematically" refused to enforce existing immigration laws.
Senators will be sworn in Wednesday as jurors, turning the chamber into the court of impeachment. The Senate will then issue a summons to Mayorkas to inform him of the charges and ask for a written answer. He will not have to appear in the Senate at any point. “Senator Schumer is the only impediment to delivering accountability for the American people,” Johnson said."Pursuant to the Constitution, the House demands a trial.”in February to impeach Mayorkas for his handling of the border. House Republicans charged in two articles of impeachment that Mayorkas has not only refused to enforce existing law but also breached the public trust by lying to Congress and saying the border was secure.
House Homeland Security Chairman Mark Green, a Tennessee Republican who is one of the impeachment managers, said earlier this month that he believes Democrats “have failed to meet the moment when it comes to ending this crisis and resolving the chaos at our borders.
In any case, Republicans would not be able to win the support of the two-thirds of the Senate that is needed to convict and remove Mayorkas from office. Democrats control the Senate, 51-49, and they appear to be united against the impeachment effort. Not a single House Democrat supported it, either.