Senate readies for Mayorkas impeachment showdown

WASHINGTON — The Senate received the articles of impeachment against Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas on Tuesday, as Democrats plan to vote as soon as Wednesday to quickly dispense with the effort to remove him from office.

Following the presentation of the articles, Senate Majority Leader Charles E. Schumer, D-N.Y., said the chamber would swear in senators as jurors at 1 p.m. on Wednesday.

Schumer has said the chamber would dispense with the articles “quickly,” but the exact mechanics of that process are still unclear. The chamber almost certainly will not vote the 67 votes to convict Mayorkas.

However the Democratic caucus would need to hold together on any votes to sidestep a trial in the closely divided chamber, and a few members on the Democratic side facing elections this fall have been targeted by Republican criticism.

A group of Republicans led by Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, has pushed for the Senate to hold a full impeachment trial for Mayorkas, including an effort Monday night to pass resolutions to have a full trial in the Senate or have a special committee handle the impeachment.

Lee and others held a press conference Tuesday with several of the House members who are impeachment managers. The group reiterated the allegations in the impeachment and called on Schumer to allow a trial, with Lee saying Republicans may withhold the unanimous consent that allows the Senate to function normally.

“We have an obligation on our side to make sure that that’s not OK and that doesn’t involve looking past this,” Lee said.

Sen. Roger Marshall, R-Kan., asked voters in Pennsylvania, Michigan, Montana and Ohio — states where sitting Democrats are facing reelection — to call their senators asking them to vote for a trial.

“If they don’t then we need to hold them accountable in November,” Marshall said.

Republicans have compared the Democratic plan to avoid a trial to the 2013 “nuclear option” rule change, where the Democrat-led Senate voted to reduce the threshold to advance federal judges and administrative appointees.

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