WASHINGTON -- The House sent two articles of impeachment against Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas to the Senate on Tuesday, forcing a trial on allegations that he has "willfully and systematically" refused to enforce immigration laws.
While the Senate is obligated to hold a trial under the rules of impeachment once the charges are walked across the Capitol, the proceedings may not last long. Democrats are expected to try to dismiss or table the charges later this week before the full arguments get underway.
After walking the articles to the Senate, the Republican prosecutors appointed by House Speaker Mike Johnson, La., stood in the well of the Senate. Karen Gibson, the Senate sergeant-at-arms and the chamber's top security official, called the session to order with a "hear ye! hear ye!" and a notice that "all persons are commanded to keep silence, on pain of imprisonment."
The House Homeland Security Committee chairman, Mark Green, a Tennessee Republican who is one of the impeachment managers, read the articles aloud as most senators sat in their seats, following along with their own paper copies.
Republicans have argued there should be a full trial. As Johnson signed the articles Monday in preparation for sending them across the Capitol, he said Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., should convene a trial to "hold those who engineered this crisis to full account."
Schumer "is the only impediment to delivering accountability for the American people," Johnson said. "Pursuant to the Constitution, the House demands a trial."
After Tuesday's ceremonial procession and presentation of the articles, the proceedings will not begin until today. Senators will be sworn in as jurors, turning the chamber into the court of impeachment. The Senate will then issue a summons to Mayorkas to inform him of the charges and ask for a written answer. He will not have to appear.
The entire process could be done within hours today . Majority Democrats have said the GOP case against Mayorkas doesn't rise to the "high crimes and misdemeanors" laid out as a bar for impeachment in the Constitution, and Schumer probably has enough votes to end the trial immediately if he decides to do so.
Schumer has said he wants to "address this issue as expeditiously as possible."
"Impeachment should never be used to settle a policy disagreement," Schumer said. "That would set a horrible precedent for the Congress."
The House narrowly voted in February to impeach Mayorkas for his handling of the U.S.-Mexico border. House Republicans charged in two articles of impeachment that Mayorkas has not only refused to enforce existing law but also breached the public trust by lying to Congress and saying the border was secure. It was the first time in nearly 150 years a Cabinet secretary was impeached.
Since then, Johnson has delayed sending the articles to the Senate for weeks while both chambers finished work on government funding legislation and took a two-week recess.
South Dakota Sen. John Thune, the Senate's No. 2 Republican, has said the Senate needs to hold a full trial at which it can examine the evidence against Mayorkas and come to a conclusion.
"This is an absolute debacle at the southern border," Thune said. "It is a national security crisis. There needs to be accountability."
Information for this article was contributed by Farnoush Amiri of The Associated Press.
House Republican impeachment managers walk to the Senate as they deliver the articles of impeachment against Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, at the Capitol in Washington, Tuesday, April 16, 2024. In front row are House Homeland Security Committee Chairman Mark Green, R-Tenn., and Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga. In second row are House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Michael McCaul, R-Texas, and Rep. Clay Higgins, R-La., followed by Rep. Andy Biggs, R-Ariz., Rep. Michael Guest, R-Miss., and others. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)
Minority Leader Sen. Mitch McConnell walks to the Senate Chambers before House Impeachment managers deliver the Secretary Mayorkas Impeachment Articles to the Senate on Monday, April 15, 2024, in Washington. (AP Photo/Kevin Wolf)
Acting-Clerk of the House Kevin McCumber, right, and House Sergeant-at-Arms William McFarland, second from right, followed by the House Impeachment managers, deliver the Secretary Mayorkas Impeachment Articles to the Senate on Monday, April 15, 2024, in Washington. (AP Photo/Kevin Wolf)
Acting-Clerk of the House Kevin McCumber, right, and House Sergeant-at-Arms William McFarland, followed by House Impeachment managers deliver the Secretary Mayorkas Impeachment Articles to the Senate on Monday, April 15, 2024, in Washington. (AP Photo/Kevin Wolf)
Acting-Clerk of the House Kevin McCumber, right, and House Sergeant-at-Arms William McFarland, followed by House Impeachment managers, deliver the Secretary Mayorkas Impeachment Articles to the Senate on Monday, April 15, 2024, in Washington. (AP Photo/Kevin Wolf)
House Impeachment Managers from left, Rep. Michael Guest, R-Miss., Rep. Andy Biggs, R-Ariz., House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Michael McCaul, R-Texas, House Committee on Homeland Security Chairman Mark Green, R-Tenn., and Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., walk cross the Capitol Rotunda to the Senate chamber to deliver Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas' Impeachment Articles at the Capitol in Washington, Tuesday, April 16, 2024. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana)
Acting-Clerk of the House Kevin McCumber, right, and House Sergeant-at-Arms William McFarland, followed by House Impeachment managers, deliver the Secretary Mayorkas Impeachment Articles to the Senate on Monday, April 15, 2024, in Washington. (AP Photo/Kevin Wolf)
Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas is sworn-in before the House Committee on Homeland Security during a hearing on "A Review of the Fiscal Year 2025 Budget Request for the Department of Homeland Security" on Capitol Hill in Washington, Tuesday, April 16, 2024. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana)
Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas testifies before the House Committee on Homeland Security during a hearing on "A Review of the Fiscal Year 2025 Budget Request for the Department of Homeland Security" on Capitol Hill in Washington, Tuesday, April 16, 2024. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana)