Senate dismisses Mayorkas impeachment articles

The U.S. Senate voted on Wednesday to put the kibosh on the impeachment push targeting Department of Homeland Security Sec. Alejandro Mayorkas.

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer raised a point of order for each of the impeachment articles, claiming that they did not allege activity that reached the level of constituting a high crime or misdemeanor and were consequently unconstitutional. Both points of order were voted to be “well taken,” with all Democrats and independents scrapping the articles as unconstitutional.

Republicans unanimously voted against Schumer’s point of order on the second article of impeachment. GOP senators were almost unanimous in voting against Schumer’s move to scrap the first article, with the lone exception of GOP Sen. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, who voted present.

The House had voted to impeach Mayorkas back in February, but House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) just signed the articles of impeachment on Monday, and the House impeachment managers delivered the articles to the Senate on Tuesday.

“By voting unanimously to bypass their constitutional responsibility, every single Senate Democrat has issued their full endorsement of the Biden Administration’s dangerous open border policies. Secretary Mayorkas alongside President Biden has used nearly every tool at his disposal to engineer the greatest humanitarian and national security catastrophe at our borders in American history,” Johnson, House Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-La.), House Majority Whip Tom Emmer (R-Minn.), and House Republican Conference Chair Elise Stefanik (R-N.Y.) said in a joint statement.

“Tragically, Senate Democrats don’t believe this catastrophe merits their time or a discussion on the Senate floor. Instead, they’re signaling to millions demanding accountability that the cabinet official directly responsible for this disaster – who has ignored the law and misled Congress repeatedly – is above reproach. The American people will hold Senate Democrats accountable for this shameful display,” the lawmakers added.