Washington will enter into uncharted waters on Wednesday afternoon when senators are sworn in for what is expected to be a confrontational but brief impeachment trial for Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas.
House managers will not be allowed to prosecute their case against Mayorkas, who is accused of willfully ignoring federal immigration law in his capacity as President Joe Biden’s border chief. There will not be a vote on guilt or innocence, either.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) announced on Wednesday morning he will move to dismiss the articles of impeachment, infuriating a band of Republicans who have vowed to draw out the proceedings as long as they can.
The Senate has never skipped a trial for a sitting Cabinet official, but Democrats view the impeachment as a political spectacle meant to damage the president in an election year. They plan to allow a number of objections on the Senate floor on Wednesday but will eventually move to cut them off.
“It is beneath the dignity of the Senate to entertain this nakedly partisan exercise, one that both conservative and liberal legal scholars agree fails to meet the high standard demanded by impeachment,” Schumer said from the well of the chamber.
Democratic leadership had spent days negotiating a compromise that, while short of a trial, would give structure to Wednesday. Republicans were offered space to raise points of order and request procedural votes. A short amount of debate was also on the table.
But conservatives including Sen. Eric Schmitt (R-MO) objected to the offer, circulated to Senate offices Tuesday evening, on the grounds that it would make Republicans “complicit” in Schumer breaking Senate norms.
“I will not aid Senator Schumer in lighting the match to set hundreds of years of precedent, the Senate, and our very Constitution ablaze,” Schmitt said in a statement.
Schumer still plans to offer an agreement on the floor that includes a period of debate time.
The proceedings, as of Tuesday, had the trappings of a trial. House managers walked the articles of impeachment to the Senate, reading aloud the charges against Mayorkas from the floor.
On Wednesday, Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-IA) will administer the oath to Sen. Patty Murray (D-WA), who, as president pro tempore of the Senate, will oversee the proceedings. She, in turn, will swear in all 100 senators.
But absent will be the one man at the center of the impeachment: Mayorkas. He traveled to New York City on Wednesday morning to announce a public awareness campaign on child exploitation and abuse.
“The Senate is going to do what the Senate considers to be appropriate as it proceeds,” he said of the trial, adding that his department is “focused on our mission.”
“Our mission is an imperative to keep everyone safe and secure,” he added.
Under Senate rules, Schumer must issue a summons to Mayorkas that requests his written response to the charges. But he may choose to ignore the directive as he prepares for dismissal.
The lack of summons is just one point of order Republicans hope to raise. Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX), who is running to be the next GOP leader, plans to highlight the growing number of persons on the terrorism watch list crossing the border.
But Murray ultimately controls the floor and could declare Republicans “dilatory” and refuse to recognize them. The proceedings are not expected to last longer than a day.
It takes a simple majority to cut the trial short, meaning all 51 Democrats would need to band together to dismiss. But even if Schumer faces defections — Sen. Jon Tester (D-MT) has been noncommittal — a number of centrist Republicans have signaled impatience with the charges.
Sen. Mitt Romney (R-UT) does not believe Mayorkas has committed the “high crimes and misdemeanors” that would warrant his conviction.
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Republicans have attempted to counterprogram the proceedings in the absence of a trial. They held a press conference with the House managers on Tuesday afternoon, shortly after the articles were transmitted to the Senate.
And their rebellion could extend beyond Wednesday. Sen. Mike Lee (R-UT) has thrown up procedural hurdles for unrelated business on the Senate floor to register his protest.