Impeach Mayorkas momentum increased this month after key swing-district Republicans showed support for such an action plan, yet these articles will face intense scrutiny in the Senate where Republicans hold one of the smallest majorities ever seen in modern American history.
Legal experts contend the charges brought against Mayorkas by the committee do not clearly align with “high crimes and misdemeanors”, the threshold set out in the Constitution for impeachment proceedings.
What is Impeachment?
Congress is granted power by the Constitution to impeach an elected official for “treason, bribery or other high Crimes and Misdemeanors.” In this process, charges such as “Treason, Bribery or other high Crimes and Misdemeanors.” may be brought against such official.
If a majority of House members vote to pass articles of impeachment, these documents will be sent to the Senate who then acts as court to conduct an impeachment trial and convict officials by 2/3 majority vote of senators present at an impeachment trial. Once found guilty by both chambers of Congress, an official may be removed from office.
As impeachment trials are political rather than legal proceedings, no formal procedural or evidentiary rules used to prosecute federal criminal cases apply during an impeachment trial. Instead, the President of the Senate presides over each trial (except when President is being tried ), except when President is being charged himself/herself; should an impeachment trial result in conviction, the Vice President takes over leadership of the presidency until another vote can be cast to bar them from future federal offices; this process has its roots in England where Parliament used this technique to remove unpopular ministers that were court favorites protected by royal protection kings.
How is Impeachment Processed?
As a constitutional process, impeachment does not require specific proof of specific crimes beyond “treason, bribery or other high crimes and misdemeanors”. Since there is no definition for these offenses in the Constitution. Once impeachment proceedings begin with the House completing its first stage of process, then Senate holds trial with chief justice serving as judge with senators serving as both prosecutors and defense lawyers representing their case before an overwhelming two-thirds majority vote removes an official from office.
Democrats on the committee have condemned this effort as a political stunt and sham, setting an unwise precedent for future cabinet officials embroiled in policy disputes. Some moderates such as Rep. Nick LaLota of New York have indicated their intent to support it; these lawmakers, including Rep. Nick LaLota from New York, intend to vote “yes”. The resolution alleges Mayorkas of violating separation of powers laws as well as federal immigration law by failing to enforce it against illegal border crossers while disregarding border crisis developments while breaching public trust by blocking oversight by Congress of DHS from congress oversight of DHS operations by DHS from congress oversight of DHS agencies.
What is the Timeline for Impeachment?
House Speaker Mike Johnson declined to provide a date when the full House would vote on impeachment charges against Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas; however, Rep. Bennie Thompson of Mississippi described Tuesday’s proceedings as a terrible day for this committee, our great nation, and the Constitution.
The Republican-led panel approved two articles of impeachment against Mayorkas, accusing him of failing to abide by immigration laws that have led to a record surge of migrants at the border and of misinforming Congress regarding DHS’s ability to control it.
Democrats on the committee asserted that these allegations fail to meet the constitutional standard for “high crimes and misdemeanors,” given DHS has cooperated with lawmakers by holding hearings and handing over documents. Furthermore, these articles could set an unwise precedent leading to frivolous impeachment attempts in future.
What Happens if Mayorkas is Impeached?
The first article alleges that Mayorkas broke laws by permitting migrants to be released while awaiting court proceedings, while the second charges that he mislead Congress about border crisis, and prevented congressional oversight of DHS. Republicans on the committee sought to move both articles forward so a trial can occur, in which Mayorkas would likely be found guilty and removed from office.
Democratic legislators maintained that the articles failed to present evidence of crimes or misdemeanors and were politically motivated, criticizing also how committee members conducted themselves by debating for hours while raising procedural objections.
Texas Representatives on the committee include former chair Michael McCaul of Austin, border district representatives Tony Gonzales from San Antonio and August Pfluger from Willis, and Republican members Michael Green from Tennessee and Sheila Jackson Lee of Texas. If the articles pass the House, however, Senate Democrats are likely to dismiss him from office.
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