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Will Senate Republicans End Up Helping Mayorkas?

Rebecca Downs
Rebecca Downs  |  February 20, 2024 8:15 PM

Last Tuesday, the House finally managed to impeach Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas with a vote of 214-213. Despite Mayorkas' dereliction of duty, three House Republicans once more voted against the effort: Reps. Ken Buck of Colorado, Mike Gallagher of Wisconsin, and Tom McClintock of California. As impeachment now heads to the Senate for a trial, Republicans in that chamber could also be protecting Mayorkas. 

The effort is not expected to pass in the Democratic-controlled Senate, but that doesn't mean it's not a noble cause. Further, Republicans don't need to help the opposition in this case, especially as it lends credence to concerns about a Uniparty running Washington. Nevertheless, there's enough infighting that led to Axios to put out a headline on Tuesday morning on how "Mayorkas impeachment sparks new Senate GOP fight."

The article previewed a letter that 13 Senate Republicans, led by Sen. Mike Lee (UT), have since sent to Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY). 

"It is imperative that the Senate Republican conference prepare to fully engage our Constitutional duty and hold a trial," the letter notes, going on to raise concerns about how Democrats may go about trying to kill the impeachment effort.

"According to multiple briefings by your staff, Majority Leader Schumer and Senate Democrats intend to dispense with the articles of impeachment by simply tabling both individually. This is an action rarely contemplated and never taken by the U.S. Senate in the history of our Republic," the letter also reads, going on to make a particularly key point. "It remains to be seen if the Senate rules will even allow us to brush aside our duty in this manner, but one thing is sure, if a similar strategy was contemplated by Senate Republicans when we were in the majority with a Republican occupying the White House, the opposition would be fierce and the volume from Democrats would be deafening."

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As Axios went on to note about whether such a move would work in the Senate:

Zoom in: Lee and Cruz met quietly with the Senate parliamentarian a week ago, arguing that Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) should not be able to simply set aside the historic impeachment articles so early in the process, Lee told Axios.

  • The parliamentarian, whose job is to interpret Senate rules and precedent, has not yet provided them any kind of formal response.

"We call on you to join us in our efforts to jettison this approach by Democrats to shirk their Constitutional duty, ensure that the Senate conducts a proper trial, and that every Senator, Republican and Democrat, adjudicates this matter when the Senate returns," the letter concluded.

According to Axios, Lee expressed hope that Republican leadership isn't "complicit in the Democrats' effort to just table the motion as if this were some childish, sophomoric exercise."

In a press release from his office, Lee is quoted as emphasizing not only the Senate's duty, but also past failures with the foreign aid bill. "The Senate failed miserably to ensure our southern border was secured before sending Ukraine billions in American tax dollars," he said. "We cannot fail to uphold our constitutional duty and conduct an impeachment trial for Secretary Mayorkas, who has ignored his duty to protect our country. Chuck Schumer is trying to sweep this travesty under the rug by violating the constitution and foregoing a trial. Republican leadership cannot stand idly by and let him."

The letter was also signed by Republican Sens. Ted Cruz (TX), Eric Schmitt (MO), Rick Scott (FL), Ron Johnson (WI), JD Vance (OH), Roger Marshall (KS), Josh Hawley (MO), Mike Braun (IN), Tommy Tuberville (AL), Ted Budd (NC), Cynthia Lummis (WY), and Marsha Blackburn (TN).

Republican unity is so crucial not only to ensure that impeachment is properly handled, but because Democrats are picking fights with Republicans on this one. 

During his appearance on Fox News' "Sunday Morning Futures," Cruz, speaking about Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY), warned that "what he’s trying to do is simply table it, just put it aside." He also had a message for Republican leadership in the Senate. 

"And I got to say, look, if Republican leadership in the Senate doesn’t like the criticism, here’s an opportunity to demonstrate some backbone. They could stand up and say, let’s have a trial. They can stand up and say, you cannot refuse to even follow the constitutional process for impeachment. You can’t dodge responsibility," Cruz, who has been at odds with McConnell, declared. 

Schumer responded by calling Cruz out over X, reposting a clip of him on Fox News. "Senator Cruz is the one who wants to do nothing on the border," he claimed, going on to lament how Cruz and other Republican senators killed a particularly problematic border bill. "Last week, he voted against a bipartisan bill to strengthen border security."

Despite such a push from Lee, Cruz, and others, there are Republicans speaking out against the effort, with Axios' coverage also including comments from North Dakota's Kevin Cramer, as he called the articles of impeachment "dead on arrival" and the "dumbest exercise and use of time."

Another member who signed the letter has a message for Vice President Kamala Harris in this matter too. Scott sent a letter to the vice president on Tuesday, reminding her of her "constitutional duty" to preside over Mayorkas' impeachment trial. The letter also acknowledges, though, that Schumer plans to have President Pro Tempore Patty Murray preside. 

In his letter, Scott also reminded that Harris was made the "border czar" in March of 2021, a role that she has failed quite spectacularly at. 

"As such, you should be keenly interested in learning whether a high-ranking member of your administration is one of those 'root causes' through his willful and persistent refusal to enforce our country’s immigration laws, frustrating the very core function of your role as President Biden’s 'border czar,'" Scott's letter mentions in part.

Harris failed to preside over the second impeachment trial of Donald Trump in February of 2021, which didn't even take place until the former president had already left office and President Joe Biden had been inaugurated weeks before.