U.S. Sen. Cynthia Lummis believes U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas is “rolling out the red carpet for people on the terror watchlist and flooding our communities with lethal drugs.”
That’s why she and 12 other Republicans on Tuesday sent a letter to Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Kentucky, demanding a Senate trial for Mayorkas’ impeachment.
“We cannot allow him to continue to hide from the consequences of this administration’s open-door policies,” Lummis said about Mayorkas in a Tuesday press release. “The Senate has a constitutional obligation to conduct a thorough trial which examines the Secretary’s willful and repeated refusal to uphold the law, and I urge Republican leadership not to stand idly by as Sen. (Chuck) Schumer, R-N.Y., attempts to sweep this dereliction of duty under the rug.”
Last week, the U.S. House passed two articles of impeachment against Mayorkas.
The Trial
Lummis and the other Republicans believe it’s the Senate’s constitutional duty to hold a trial on the charges brought against Mayorkas.
U.S. Rep. Harriet Hageman, R-Wyoming, was named an impeachment manager if the Senate decides to convene a trial on Mayorkas.
Even if a trial is called, it’s highly unlikely the Senate would vote to impeach Mayorkas as Democrats hold a majority in the chamber and a two-thirds majority is required for impeachment. Further, some Senate Republicans have balked at the House's Mayorkas impeachment.
Historical
The letter warns that Senate Democrats intend to vote to table the articles of impeachment. If the tables were turned, Lummis and her colleagues say that “the opposition would be fierce and the volume from Democrats would be deafening.”
“This is an action rarely contemplated and never taken by the U.S. Senate in the history of our Republic,” the letter reads.
Mayorkas is only the second cabinet official in U.S. history to be impeached and first since 1876.
Democrats like President Joe Biden have condemned the effort as a partisan ploy with no constitutional backing.
Joining Lummis on the letter are Sens. Mike Lee, R-Utah; Ted Cruz, R-Texas; Eric Schmitt, R-Missouri; Rick Scott, R-Florida; Ron Johnson, R-Wisconsin; J.D. Vance, R-Ohio; Roger Marshall, R-Kansas;; Josh Hawley, R-Missouri; Mike Braun, R-Indiana; Tommy Tuberville, R-Alabama; and Ted Budd, R-North Carolina.
“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 reads.
Leo Wolfson can be reached at leo@cowboystatedaily.com.
