Senators voted 51-48 against the first article of impeachment, with Alaska Sen. Lisa Murkowski, a Republican, voting present. On the second article, senators voted to dismiss by a 51-49 margin, with Murkowski voting with her party.The U.S. Senate on April 17 voted to kill the impeachment articles against Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, dismissing with procedural votes the first attempt to remove a Cabinet secretary in more than 150 years.
Three independent senators sided with Democrats on both votes. The vote put the brakes on a Senate trial, which would have allowed the public to hear and weigh allegations of impropriety that led to Mayorkas’ impeachment in the U.S. House. Dismissing the articles means that the DHS Secretary will not be removed from his post. The quick dismissal of the case has drawn sharp criticism, including from a leading immigration advocacy group. “Today, the U.S. Senate took the unprecedented step of effectively dismissing the articles of impeachment against Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas that were passed by the House of Representatives,” said Dan Stein, president of the Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR), in response to the Senate vote. “Never in the history of our republic has the Senate refused to carry out its constitutional obligation to adjudicate lawfully approved articles of impeachment against a government official.” Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) moved to dismiss the charges, arguing that cabinet members cannot be impeached and removed for carrying out the policies of the administration in which they serve. “The Senate set a very important precedent that impeachment should be reserved only for high crimes and misdemeanors, and not for settling policy disagreements,” he said in a statement. In a 20-page impeachment resolution, Republicans said Mayorkas’ actions render him “in violation of his oath to support and defend” the Constitution. During congressional hearings, some have stated that Mayorkas has lied to congress on more than one occasion. Stein says there was ample evidence warranting Mayorkas’ impeachment and removal. “The articles of impeachment were based on a mountain of evidence, revealed through an extensive, months-long investigation, regarding Mayorkas’ dereliction of duty as DHS secretary,” he said. “The articles lay out specific provisions of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) that Mayorkas has violated, and detail the numerous times the secretary has knowingly lied to Congress and the American people to hide the results of his disastrous policies. These charges were clearly sufficient to warrant a Senate trial to determine if Secretary Mayorkas should be removed from office.” Stein explained that the Democratic-led effort to stop Mayorkas’ trial was expected, given that the evidence presented would have at least led to a “conviction in the court of public opinion,” which he says is the reason Schumer “took the extraordinary step” of dismissing the articles pre-trial. “Senator Schumer’s actions may have prevented a public hearing of the evidence that led to Mayorkas’ impeachment in the House, but he cannot hide the impact that the unprecedented flood of illegal immigration is having on their lives and communities, and the dangers it poses to the security of the country,” Stein said.
As DHS Secretary, Mayorkas has presided over the largest migrant crisis in U.S. history, with more than 10 million illegal aliens apprehended at the border since President Joe Biden took office.Loading...
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