'Business as usual': Dems slammed after killing Alejandro Mayorkas impeachment trial in brazen Senate move

WASHINGTON, DC: In a historic move on Wednesday, April 17, the Senate concluded the impeachment trial of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, marking him as the second Cabinet official in history to evade a conviction and removal from office.

Notably, Mayorkas is the first to be acquitted without the presentation of evidence regarding alleged "high crimes and misdemeanors."

Unprecedented dismissal motion of impeachment trial

The proceedings commenced with Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) convening the upper chamber in the early afternoon. Schumer swore in the 51 Democrats or independents who caucus with them and 49 Republicans as jurors before offering a motion to dismiss the first of the charges without a trial.

However, this unprecedented move triggered a series of objections from Republicans. Senator John Kennedy (R-La) proposed a motion to adjourn the proceedings until April 30, and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky) opposed Schumer's point of order, stating that the Senate hadn't had the opportunity to perform its duty of presenting and defending the case.

“At this point, in any trial in the country, the prosecution presents the case, the defense does the same and the jury listens,” McConnell said. “But the Senate has not had the opportunity to perform this duty.”

Nevertheless, GOP objections were overruled, with all 51 Democrats voting against them.

The votes on dismissing both articles fell along party lines, with Alaska GOP Senator Lisa Murkowski voting present on the question of dismissing the first article and against dismissing the second. This resulted in both articles being dismissed by a narrow margin of 51-49.

After nearly two hours of deliberations, Mayorkas emerged as the first impeached government official in US history to evade a trial. This trial followed 21 impeachments, including those of three presidents, a Cabinet secretary, a senator, and numerous federal judges.

Senator John Cornyn foresaw the attempt to downplay the Biden border crisis, stating, "They're gonna try to sweep this under the rug and act as if the Biden border crisis never existed. But the evidence is very plain."

Schumer, in a Senate floor speech preceding the trial, emphasized the need for expeditious proceedings, stating, "Impeachment should never be used to settle a policy disagreement."

The House had voted 214-213 in February to impeach Mayorkas, accusing him of "willful and systemic refusal to comply" with federal immigration law and lying to Congress about border security under the Biden administration.

Following the Senate vote, Homeland Security Chairman Mark Green (R-Tenn) criticized the Senate's failure to conduct a full trial, stating, "This is an unprecedented failure by the Senate to do its duty."

However, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) spokeswoman Mia Ehrenberg defended Mayorkas, stating, "Today's decision by the Senate to reject House Republicans' baseless attacks on Secretary Mayorkas proves definitively that there was no evidence or Constitutional grounds to justify impeachment."

The backdrop against which this trial unfolded was the ongoing crisis at the US-Mexico border.

Statistics revealed record-breaking numbers of migrant crossings during Biden's tenure, with over 9 million encountered at land borders, including more than 7.5 million caught along the southern border. Additionally, there was a backlog of asylum cases exceeding three million, the New York Post reported.

Social media reactions to Democratic move

The decision to end the trial sparked a wave of reactions on social media, with some voicing their frustration at the lack of accountability, while others viewed it as a political move.

"Business as usual," one posted on X.

"They don’t want voters to see just how bad Mayorkas is and has been," another insisted.

"And nobody will do anything about it. The Democrats have been given a blank check & the keys to everything, why would they stop now?" someone else offered.

"Republicans need to fight back," another added.

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