Will Schumer break from tradition and abandon Mayorkas impeachment trial
Republicans Pressure Schumer for Full Impeachment Trial of Mayorkas
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) is facing pressure from Republicans to hold a full impeachment trial for Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas when the House sends over the impeachment articles at the end of the month.
The House voted last Tuesday to impeach Mayorkas, whom Republicans have accused of refusing to enforce existing federal border laws amid record illegal migrant crossings, in a 214-213 vote. The impeachment articles will now be sent to the Senate for a trial, where members will act as jurors deciding whether to acquit or convict.
Will Schumer Allow a Full Trial or Expedited Process?
What remains to be seen is whether Schumer will allow for a full trial or an expedited process with a quick vote on the articles, which will be delivered at a hectic time for the Senate. Schumer‘s office said the articles would be delivered later this month when the upper chamber reconvenes following a two-week recess.
“I got to tell you, with the Mayorkas impeachment, you know what Schumer wants to do? He doesn’t even want to have a trial,” Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) told Fox News on Sunday. “He doesn’t even want to have senators vote on guilty or not guilty. What he’s trying to do is simply table it, just put it aside.”
“In over 200 years of our nation’s history, the Senate has never once tabled articles of impeachment. That has never happened,” he added. “Every single time, the Senate has voted, has voted on either guilt or innocence, or the House has withdrawn the impeachment.”
Democrats are reluctant to hold a drawn-out trial on what they have denounced as a political exercise and could move to dismiss the articles sometime after jurors are sworn in with a simple majority vote.
Schumer’s colleagues in Democratic leadership are among those who want the Senate to quickly dispose of the articles.
“Sen. Schumer’s going to decide what to do, but it certainly is, from where I sit, just a political process,” Sen. Debbie Stabenow (D-MI), the No. 3 Democrat in the Senate, told the Washington Examiner earlier this month.
The problem for Schumer is that tabling the articles would be unheard of.
The House has sent 22 impeachment articles to the Senate over the course of U.S. history. Of those instances, the Senate never once tabled or tossed the articles. On two occasions, the individual facing impeachment resigned before a trial could occur. Schumer needs to allow for a trial to move forward to be in line with historical precedent.
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) suggested last week that he could be amenable to siding with Schumer to avoid a full-blown trial paralyzing the upper chamber.
“I don’t think we’ll have two endless trials like we’ve had recently,” he said.
A Schumer spokesman did not respond to the Washington Examiner’s request for comment on the matter.
Cruz, an ardent critic of McConnell’s leadership, said over the weekend that the situation provides Senate GOP leadership an opportunity to push back against conservative disapproval.
“If Republican leadership in the Senate doesn’t like the criticism, here’s an opportunity to demonstrate some backbone,” he said. “They could stand up and say, ‘Let’s have a trial.’ They can stand up and say, ‘You cannot refuse to even follow the constitutional process for impeachment. You can’t dodge responsibility.’”
Democratic strategists had differing thoughts on how Schumer may proceed. Some speculated to the Washington Examiner that the majority leader would quickly move to begin a speedy trial, while others suggested he may consider tabling the articles completely.
“I don’t see him giving it the legitimacy of a floor vote in the United States Senate when there’s so much real policy and problem solving to get done,” Jon Reinish, a Democratic strategist with Mercury Public Affairs, said. “He is laser focused on Israel, Taiwan, Ukraine, on keeping the government open, confirming judges. There is so much to do right now that’s actually serious.”
Chris Coffey, a longtime Democratic strategist and CEO of Tusk Strategies, had trouble seeing how Democrats would benefit from holding a full trial.
“Chuck would have to make the calculation that it makes the Republicans look so bad to even waste their time on this trial, and I’m not sure that that’s what he thinks,” Coffey said. “It makes both parties look bad. The American people are sending folks to Congress to get stuff done, and having a failed trial for the secretary of homeland security can’t be what most Americans want their government to focus on.”
Republicans are also urging Vice President Kamala Harris to preside over the trial rather than Senate President Pro Tempore Patty Murray (D-WA).
The presiding officer role is largely ceremonial, with Murray’s primary responsibility being to administer the oath of office to senators at the start of the trial. Murray will also be a juror alongside her colleagues, as former Vermont Sen. Patrick Leahy was when he oversaw former President Donald Trump’s second impeachment trial.
Sen. Rick Scott (R-FL) penned a letter to Harris last week encouraging her to preside over the matter because of her role in addressing the root causes of illegal immigration.
“When President Biden appointed you as the ‘border czar’ in early 2021, he tasked you with ‘stemming the migration to our southern border.’ In accepting that appointment, you acknowledged a need ‘to deal with the root causes’ of the flows of illegal immigration across our southern border,” Scott wrote in his missive to Harris.
For her part, Harris has not responded to the offer.
Both Scott and Cruz were among the 13 Republican senators who penned a letter to McConnell on Tuesday urging him to support a full trial.
“According to multiple briefings by your staff, Majority Leader Schumer and Senate Democrats intend to dispense with the articles of impeachment by simply tabling both individually,” the group wrote. “This is an action rarely contemplated and never taken by the U.S. Senate in the history of our Republic.”
David Sivak contributed to this report.
What are the potential implications for Republicans if a full trial is held for Mayorkas?
D and he can score political points by dragging out this process,” Coffey said. “And I think the calculation would be the opposite, which is, if he held a full-blown trial, it would give Republicans a tremendous platform to air their grievances and talk about issues that Democrats don’t want to talk about.”
The Implications of a Full Trial
If Schumer decides to hold a full trial for Mayorkas, it could have significant implications for both parties. For Republicans, it would provide an opportunity to highlight their concerns about border security and immigration policies under the Biden administration. It would also allow them to question the actions and decisions of Mayorkas in enforcing federal border laws. This could resonate with their base and potentially sway public opinion on the issue.
On the other hand, Democrats may see a full trial as a political distraction that takes away from their policy agenda. They may argue that the impeachment of Mayorkas is a partisan move by Republicans and that a full trial would only serve to further divide the country. Democrats may prefer to swiftly dispose of the articles and focus on other pressing matters, such as passing legislation and addressing key policy issues.
Furthermore, a full trial could potentially expose internal divisions within the Democratic party. Some Democrats, particularly moderates in swing states, may feel uneasy about voting on the impeachment of one of their own party members. They may be concerned about the political ramifications of such a vote and prefer to avoid a drawn-out trial that could impact their re-election chances.
The Decision Lies with Schumer
Ultimately, the decision on whether to hold a full impeachment trial lies with Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer. As the leader of the Democratic caucus, he has the power to influence the process and determine the timeline for the trial.
Schumer’s decision will not only shape the outcome of Mayorkas’ impeachment but also have broader political implications. It will signal how Democrats plan to handle impeachment proceedings in the future and how they prioritize their policy agenda.
Republicans are eager to see Schumer allow for a full trial, viewing it as an opportunity to hold the Biden administration accountable for their perceived failures on border security. Democrats, on the other hand, may prefer to swiftly dispose of the articles and move on to other pressing matters.
As the debate continues, all eyes will be on Schumer as he navigates this politically charged decision. The fate of Mayorkas’ impeachment and the future of impeachment trials in the Senate may depend on the choice he makes.
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