Republican leadership in the Senate called for a full trial of President Joe Biden’s border chief on Tuesday as Democrats weigh a quick dismissal of the impeachment charges against him.
The Senate has the constitutional authority to try Alejandro Mayorkas, the homeland secretary House Republicans impeached in a party-line vote earlier this month. But Democrats could move to quash the charges shortly after senators are sworn in as jurors.
The two impeachment articles — Mayorkas is charged with a breach of public trust and wilful refusal to enforce immigration law — could be dismissed at a simple majority threshold, or Democrats could pursue other avenues, such as referring the charges to a special committee that would drag the process out indefinitely.
The top two Senate Republicans objected to that approach, however, in a Tuesday press conference. Sen. John Thune (R-SD), the Republican minority whip, called the president’s border policies a “miscarriage of the law” that requires “people to be held accountable.”
“I think this is the way to do that,” he said of a trial. “So, I’m going to make the argument, and I’m sure the Democrats will try to dismiss it, but we ought to be conducting a trial in the United States Senate to determine whether or not these are impeachable offenses.”
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY), upon being asked about a full trial, agreed with Thune. “I think that would be the best way to go forward, yeah,” he told reporters.
The Senate is not expected to take any action this week because the two chambers are presently locked in a dispute over government funding, but Democrats have already signaled they have no appetite for what they consider to be a politicized effort by House Republicans to tie Biden to the crisis at the southern border.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) intends to swear the senators in as jurors after the impeachment articles are delivered by the House, but a vote to table could happen sometime after that.
Senate Republicans have loudly protested those plans. More than a dozen conservatives sent a letter to McConnell urging him to help “jettison this approach by Democrats” last week.
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But even centrist Democrats appear on board with dismissal, meaning Schumer would likely have the votes.
The Biden administration has attempted to mute criticism of his handling of the border as officials are overrun with illegal crossings. Biden is considering new executive action apart from a legislative compromise that fell apart in December and is also slated to appear in Brownsville, Texas, to survey the border on Thursday, his second visit as president.
