Senate Republicans plan to grind business in the chamber to a halt if Majority Leader Chuck Schumer declines to allow a trial of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas.
Mayorkas was impeached by the House of Representatives in February over his and the Biden administration’s failure to do anything about the ongoing border crisis.
House Republicans voted to impeach Mayorkas on two articles, citing his refusal to enforce the country’s immigration laws and his breach of the public’s trust.
Mayorkas was alleged to have “knowingly made false statements” and “knowingly obstructed lawful oversight” of his department.
A conviction and Mayorkas’ eventual expulsion from office has been viewed as unlikely in the Senate, but some senators are prepared to ensure he faces a trial when the House delivers his articles of impeachment next week.
Fox News, citing six sources with knowledge of the plan, reported about a dozen Republican senators plans to “prevent all legislative business” from going forward if Schumer attempts to quash the issue.
“The Senate runs on unanimous consent,” a person described as an aide to a Senate Republican told the network Wednesday. “Any one senator can do that.”
According to the source, the senators, none of whom were named, have been privately discussing grinding all Senate business to a standstill as a possible option to motivate Schumer into allowing a trial.
Those talks reportedly started last week.
Fox News’ Julia Johnson further reported, “A second Senate Republican aide also confirmed that several senators are voicing support for slowing or even stopping legislative business if impeachment is tabled.”
The reported plan would see some senators object to even the most basic of procedures.
In the Senate, any legislator can raise any objection to any procedure at any time — which could hamper Schumer from getting anything done.
As the Senate’s glossary notes, unanimous consent is an agreement on “any question or matter before the Senate that sets aside a rule of procedure to expedite proceedings.”
“Many requests for unanimous consent are routine, but if any senator objects, the request is rejected.”
The Hill reported on Tuesday that Mayorkas’ impeachment was expected to hit a “dead end” in the chamber as Schumer intended to avoid a trial.
The Department of Homeland Security defended Mayorkas in a statement that claimed House Republicans who voted to impeach Mayorkas had “falsely smeared a dedicated public servant who has spent more than 20 years enforcing our laws and serving our country.”
In the articles of impeachment, Mayorkas is accused of permitting the country’s border with Mexico to remain open, lying about it, hindering efforts by Border Patrol agents to secure the border and also impeding the ability of courts to expeditiously handle asylum claims.
The country’s immigration courts are currently overwhelmed as thousands of illegal aliens a day stream across and are then released into American communities with court dates that are in many cases years away.
via westernjournal
