House Delays Sending Impeachment to Senate to Address Funding Battle

FAIR Take | March 2024

Last week, House Republican leadership elected to delay sending the articles of impeachment against Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Mayorkas to the Senate for trial. With the race to finalize full-year appropriations reaching its last stages, Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) has chosen to address government funding first. Two bills funding numerous government agencies will need to be passed, one by March 8 and the other by March 22, to avoid a government shutdown.

The impeachment articles are thus expected to be sent to the Senate in the coming weeks, but Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) is rumored to be considering a motion to table them on arrival. That motion only requires a simple majority to pass and would effectively end the trial before it begins. Tabling the impeachment articles would be an unprecedented move by the Majority Leader, however, as it has never been done in the 20 impeachment hearings conducted by the Senate to date.

Some Senate Democrats have already been dismissing the impeachment articles. Senator Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich.) voiced support for prohibiting a trial, saying that, “I certainly would support a motion to dismiss because it’s just very, very political. And we’ve got so many important things coming up.” Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) reiterated that same message: “I’d be glad to see a motion to dismiss…The Mayorkas impeachment is nothing but political theater from a Republican Party that can’t do any real legislative work.”

On the other hand, many Senate Republicans, including those in leadership, are pushing for a full trial on the Senate floor. Senate Minority Whip John Thune (R-S.D.) noted that “This is such a miscarriage of the law, and it is important that the United States Senators sit and hear, and the American people hear about this incredible crisis at our Southern border.” Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) echoed those statements, describing a full trial as the best path forward. Senator Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.) likewise noted that she believes a full trial is the constitutional duty of the Senate, and emphasized that “if this chamber upholds its constitutional duty, I will vote to convict him.”

Tabling the impeachment articles would require every member of the Democratic caucus, including all three Independents, to vote in favor. Senator Kyrsten Sinema (I-Ariz.), who has consistently pointed out the border crisis’ damaging impacts on Arizonians, has yet to take a firm position on tabling the articles of impeachment. When asked whether she’d vote to dismiss the articles, Senator Sinema told NBC News that she would have to read the articles before making any decisions.

According to a February Harvard CAPS-Harris Poll, 62 percent of American voters support the House’s move to impeach Secretary Mayorkas. That poll follows another showing that 71 percent of Americans now disapprove of the Biden Administration’s immigration policies. And, according to a recent Gallup poll, Americans now think immigration is the number one problem facing the country.

The American people deserve a full, thorough discussion of the charges against the Secretary that merit his removal, not underhanded efforts to shield the Biden Administration from the crisis it has created at our borders. A move by Senate Majority Leadership to block the continuation of a widely supported impeachment is not only unprecedented, it’s a disservice to Americans across the country and a violation of the Senate’s constitutional duty.

To learn more about the case against Secretary Mayorkas, click here.