The United States Senate moved quickly on Wednesday to kill the first article of impeachment filed against Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas - the first step in ending the longshot bid to prosecute the cabinet secretary over his handling of migration at the U.S.-Mexico border.
Mayorkas was impeached by the House of Representatives on two charges - that he willfully and systematically refused to comply with the law and that he breached public trust. Senate Democrats dispensed with the first article on the grounds that it was unconstitutional. If they are able to do so with the second article, Mayorkas's trial before the Senate will be over before it ever happens.
More than a dozen Constitutional law experts called on Speaker of the House Mike Johnson to not move forward with the impeachment, which they described as "utterly unjustified." This sentiment was also expressed by Senate Democrats, when they moved to dismiss the charges.
"For the sake of the Senate's integrity and to protect impeachment for those rare cases we truly need it, senators should dismiss today's charges," said Democratic Majority Leader Chuck Schumer. "To validate this gross abuse by the House would be a grave mistake and could set a dangerous precedent for the future."
House Republicans argue that by enforcing President Joe Biden's border policy, Mayorkas was responsible for a wave of undocumented immigrants entering into the country. Impeaching a cabinet secretary is virtually unprecedented - only Ulysses S. Grant's Secretary of War faced similar proceedings and he resigned moments before Congress was able to vote.
The 51-48 vote to dismiss Mayorkas' charges largely fell along party lines - though Republican Senator Lisa Murkowski of Alaska voted present. While Democrats argue that Mayorkas' actions do not rise to the level of an impeachable offense, GOP leaders have said that the entire process of impeachment will be endangered if Mayorkas is not tried before the Senate.
"Tabling articles of impeachment would be unprecedented in the history of the Senate - it's as simple as that," said Senator Mitch McConnell, the minority leader.
