(FeaturedHeadlines.com) Senate Democrats dismissed both articles of impeachment against DHS secretary Alejandro Mayorkas in separate votes, which effectively ended the contentious trial of Biden’s border chief.
The first impeachment article accused Mayorkas of a deliberate and systematic failure to enforce border laws as a DHS secretary, while the second article charged him with a breach of public trust.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer introduced a point of order to declare the first article unconstitutional, which was followed by Republicans’ attempts to hold a full trial of Biden’s border chief instead of acquitting him of all the charges immediately.
Schumer proposed the point of order after Republican Senator Eric Schmitt dismissed his request for unanimous consent to divide the time for debates and voting on two GOP resolutions. Schmitt argued that the Senate needs to conduct a full trial against Mayorkas instead of following Schumer’s plan that would acquit Mayorkas immediately.
The first point of order by Schumer resulted in a 51-48 vote across the partisan lines, with one Republican Senator Lisa Murkowski of Alaska voting present.
Before the Senate vote, Schumer suggested that the charges against Mayorkas failed to reach a minimum threshold of “high crime and misdemeanor” as detailed in the US Constitution. The Majority Leader also believed that convicting Mayorkas would set a dangerous precedent, adding that impeachment should never be used for political disagreements. Schumer claimed that Republicans conducted the whole trial to help Donald Trump win the 2024 presidential elections.
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell slammed Schumer’s efforts to introduce the point of order, claiming that the whole process has to be followed properly to stand on the right side of history.
Senate Republicans also brought motions in response to Schumer’s point of order for the second article of impeachment, after which the chamber voted by 51-49 to declare this article unconstitutional as well. Senator Murkowski rejoined Republicans for this vote.
This Senate proceeding concludes the impeachment trial of Mayorkas, who became the first secretary to be impeached in 158 years.
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