As planned, Speaker Mike Johnson will not send the articles of impeachment against Alejandro Mayorkas, the Secretary of Homeland Security, to the Senate this week as planned. On Tuesday, Republican senators asked for more time to get more people behind having a full hearing.
AP writes that the quick change of plans raised new questions about the process of impeaching a Cabinet secretary, which would be the first time in about 150 years that this had happened. House Republicans tried to get rid of Mayorkas in February to criticize the Biden administration's handling of the southern border, but they did not send the stories until they were done working on legislation to fund the government.
Johnson was going to send the charges of impeachment to the Senate on Wednesday night. But when it became clear that Democrats, who control the body, had the votes to quickly fire them, Republicans in the Senate asked Johnson to put off the decision until next week. They thought this strategy would make things take longer.
On Tuesday, Republicans said that not having a full Senate hearing would be unusual. However, when Donald Trump was impeached a second time on charges that he encouraged an uprising in the attack on the Capitol on January 6, 2021, most Republicans agreed to do just that. They tried to stop the proceedings but failed. In the end, Trump was found not guilty in the Senate trial.
"Our members want to be able to debate and vote on issues they want to bring up," said John Thune, the second-ranking Republican senator from South Dakota. According to the rules of procedure, senators must meet as jurors the day after the articles of impeachment are sent to the court for a hearing.
Senator Chuck Schumer, who has called the impeachment movement a "sham," said that Democrats still plan to move quickly on the charges. "We are prepared to leave whenever they want." We are going to follow our plan. Schumer said, "We are going to move this along as quickly as we can." His first words to reporters Tuesday morning were, "Impeachment should never be used to settle policy disagreements."
AP writes that the quick change of plans raised new questions about the process of impeaching a Cabinet secretary, which would be the first time in about 150 years that this had happened. House Republicans tried to get rid of Mayorkas in February to criticize the Biden administration's handling of the southern border, but they did not send the stories until they were done working on legislation to fund the government.
Johnson was going to send the charges of impeachment to the Senate on Wednesday night. But when it became clear that Democrats, who control the body, had the votes to quickly fire them, Republicans in the Senate asked Johnson to put off the decision until next week. They thought this strategy would make things take longer.
On Tuesday, Republicans said that not having a full Senate hearing would be unusual. However, when Donald Trump was impeached a second time on charges that he encouraged an uprising in the attack on the Capitol on January 6, 2021, most Republicans agreed to do just that. They tried to stop the proceedings but failed. In the end, Trump was found not guilty in the Senate trial.
"Our members want to be able to debate and vote on issues they want to bring up," said John Thune, the second-ranking Republican senator from South Dakota. According to the rules of procedure, senators must meet as jurors the day after the articles of impeachment are sent to the court for a hearing.
Senator Chuck Schumer, who has called the impeachment movement a "sham," said that Democrats still plan to move quickly on the charges. "We are prepared to leave whenever they want." We are going to follow our plan. Schumer said, "We are going to move this along as quickly as we can." His first words to reporters Tuesday morning were, "Impeachment should never be used to settle policy disagreements."
