House GOP to send Mayorkas articles of impeachment to Senate on April 10

WASHINGTON – House Republicans will deliver articles of impeachment against Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas on April 10, soon after both the House and Senate return from its recess.

House Speaker Mike Johnson along with the 11 GOP impeachment managers sent a letter to Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., on Thursday calling on him “to schedule a trial of the matter expeditiously.”

The effort is almost certainly expected to fail in the Democratic-controlled Senate where Democrats and a handful of Republicans have expressed skepticism about impeaching and removing Mayorkas from his post.

When House Republicans bring the articles to the Senate, all senators will then be sworn in as jurors to serve in a trial. Soon after, senators could swiftly move to dismiss the articles. Schumer so far has declined to say how he will approach a trial but has railed against the impeachment push in the past.

"As we have said previously, after the House impeachment managers present the articles of impeachment to the Senate, Senators will be sworn in as jurors in the trial the next day. Senate President Pro Tempore Patty Murray will preside,” Schumer’s office said in response to the letter.

House Republicans impeached Mayorkas in February alleging he deliberately and willfully caused the crisis on the southern border. But Democrats, some Republicans and legal scholars have questioned the grounds for impeaching Mayorkas over what they say are simply policy disagreements. House Republicans attempted to impeach Mayorkas earlier, but failed in spectacular fashion on the floor after just a handful of GOP lawmakers shot down the effort, highlighting the doubts impeachment garnered.

“This methodical approach led us—and the American people—to the conclusion that Secretary Mayorkas’ actions warranted impeachment. He refused to comply with the requirements of the immigration laws passed by Congress,” Johnson and the impeachment managers wrote in the letter to Schumer.

Some Senate Republicans have echoed the House GOP's demand for a full trial. Sen. John Barrasso, R-Wyo., the most conservative member of Senate GOP leadership, said in a post on X, formerly Twitter, "the Senate must hold a full trial."

“To table articles of impeachment without ever hearing a single argument or reviewing a piece of evidence would be a violation of our constitutional order and an affront to the American people whom we all serve,” the letter concludes.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: House GOP to send Mayorkas impeachment articles to Senate on April 10