Senate leaders from both parties expect Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., to avoid an impeachment trial involving Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas.
The House voted Feb. 13 to impeach Mayorkas for his failure to control the migrant crisis at the southern border. The chamber's impeachment managers will deliver the articles of impeachment to the Senate on Wednesday.
With two articles of impeachment, the House charges that Mayorkas has "willfully and systematically" refused to enforce existing immigration laws and breached the public trust by lying to Congress and saying the border was secure.
Although Senate President Pro Tempore Patty Murray, D-Wash., plans to swear in senators as jurors on Thursday, Schumer is expected to forgo a trial.
"My expectation is when we get this, we will dispose of this pretty quickly," Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., said, The Hill reported Tuesday. "We view it as a stunt. The Republicans view it as a stunt. That doesn't mean some won't vote for it, but no one views this as serious."
Most Republicans, understandably, see things differently.
"Apparently, they don't think it's worth their time," Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, told The Hill. "And they'd certainly like to avoid the embarrassment of going through the failure after failure of the Biden administration and Secretary Mayorkas when it comes to simply enforcing the law."
In an opinion column Sunday in The Wall Street Journal, Sens. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, and Mike Lee, R-Utah, said, "The Senate has an obligation to vote on articles of impeachment."
Cruz and Lee noted that the GOP, while in the majority in 2019, "respected" the process after then-President Donald Trump was impeached by House Democrats.
"We fulfilled our constitutional duty and held a full trial on the floor. Now that the shoe is on the other foot, Senate Democrats are trying to destroy yet another precedent and further politicize the impeachment process," they wrote. "Democrats will shatter another norm and set a dangerous precedent that they're going to regret."
The Hill previously reported that Schumer either could hold a floor vote to dismiss the articles outright or refer them to a special committee, essentially burying them until after November's general election.
Democrats are expected to have the required 51 votes to table or dismiss the articles.
"Schumer will be able to file a motion to dismiss or table. I expect he will do that," Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., said last week.
"And the Democrats have a majority, so it may not go on very long."
House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., joined Senate Republicans in pushing Schumer to hold a full trial.
"If he cares about the Constitution and ending the devastation caused by Biden's border catastrophe, Senator Schumer will quickly schedule a full public trial and hear the arguments put forth by our impeachment managers," Johnson said in a statement.
The Associated Press contributed to this story.
Charlie McCarthy ✉
Charlie McCarthy, a writer/editor at Newsmax, has nearly 40 years of experience covering news, sports, and politics.
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