Will the GOP get Homeland Security Sec. Alejandro Mayorkas fired? (2024)

Republicans delayed the impeachment process of Homeland Security Sec. Alejandro Mayorkas until next week to try and save the effort from being quashed by Senate Democrats.

As it stands, the monthslong process has bitterly divided the two parties on a voting concern that largely unites the country.

Republicans are adamant that Mayorkas, who has overseen consecutive years of record-breaking illegal immigration into the U.S., be fired.

His performance overseeing the largest migrant crisis in history is enough to remove him,GOP members argue.

Fueling their concerns further, many of these members represent rural areas that dwarf in population compared to the estimated over nine million migrants who have entered the U.S. unlawfully in the past three years.

Democrats, meanwhile, believe Republicans are playing political games by impeaching Mayorkas. They say that Republicans have policy disagreements with President Joe Biden's border agenda and by extension his chief operator who carries out those policies.

These lawmakers have growing concerns over the border too, but disagree that impeachment is the way to resolve record illegal immigration.

So, as Mayorkas' future as the secretary of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) hangs in the balance, what comes next?

How did we get here? Mayorkas impeachment timeline:

The Republican-led House Homeland Security Committee has been investigating Mayorkas' mishandling of the U.S. border since last summer.

The committee released a five-installment report spanning from July 2023 to December 2023.

In January, Chairman Mark Green, R-Tenn., released an impeachment resolutionwith two individual charges against Mayorkas.

The impeachment articles said that Mayorkas 'refused to comply with Federal immigration laws' amid a record surge of migrants and that he has 'breached the public trust' in his claims to Congress that the US-Mexico border is secure.

After a late night vote passing the articles out of the committee on January 31, the resolution was teed up for a vote on the House floor.

A week later, the House voted 216-214 on the impeachment articles and the Republican-backed motion failed.

But a week later, on February 13, the House tried again and the articles of impeachment passed by a single vote.

'Secretary Mayorkas’ impeachment—the first of a sitting Cabinet official in U.S. history—indicates how seriously the House takes his refusal to comply with the law and his breach of the public trust,' Green told DailyMail.com in a statement.

'This historic vote followed a thorough, fair, comprehensive, and nearly year-long investigation conducted by the House Committee on Homeland Security into Secretary Mayorkas and his handling of the unprecedented border crisis.'

'The Framers of our Constitution gave Congress this grave authority when public officials choose to ignore the law and inflict grave harm on our constitutional order. The Democrat-led Senate must hold the trial, render a verdict, and hold Secretary Mayorkas accountable,' Green added.

Following the passage of the articles in the House,Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer's office released a statement indicating that the articles would be promptly acted upon after the following a in-district work period.

But as that time came and went the House did not send the Senate the articles, instead working for weeks on massive funding packages to keep the government from a partial shutdown.

After another at home work period for Easter recess, Speaker Johnson and his appointed impeachment managers sent a letter to Schumer on March 28 informing him they would walk the articles to the Senate on April 10.

On April 9, however, a group of GOP Senators led by Sens. Mike Lee, R-Utah, John Kennedy, R-La., Ted Cruz, R-Texas, Roger Marshall, R-Kan., and Ron Johnson, R-Wis., held a press conference advocating for the House to hold off sending the articles.

The 11th-hour plea for delaying was because the Republicans knew if the articles were delivered on schedule - Wednesday at 5:00 p.m. - the Senate would have little motivation to have a long trial as many had planned to fly out of D.C. by Thursday.

'Many House and Senate members think Johnson’s timing is dumb, because a Wednesday night delivery [and] Thursday afternoon floor fight aren’t enough time to win the news cycle and to hammer the fight in Washington,' a senior Senate aide told DailyMail.com Tuesday.

Later that evening, Speaker Johnson agreed to the Senator's request and held off on sending the articles.

A spokesperson for Speaker Johnson said that 'to ensure the Senate has adequate time to perform its constitutional duty, the House will transmit the articles of impeachment to the Senate next week.'

'There is no reason whatsoever for the Senate to abdicate its responsibility to hold an impeachment trial,' Taylor Haulsee told DailyMail.com.

A source familiar with the matter told DailyMail.com that the House is expected to deliver the articles to the Senate on Tuesday, April 16.

What will happen next week?

The articles of impeachment against Mayorkas will be physically walked across the Capitol from the House to the Senate by the Johnson-appointed impeachment managers.

The procession from the House to the Senate will be led by House staff workers and will also feature the eleven impeachment managers following behind them.

The last time the impeachment ceremony took place was in January 2021, when former President Donald Trump was impeached by the House for high crimes and misdemeanors related to his behavior on January 6.

Once over on the Senate side the House employees are expected to enter the upper chamber and present the articles to the senator presiding over the floor.

Delivery of the articles immediately begins the process in the Senate.

'As busy as we are, one issue the Senate will soon have to address is the House vote to impeach Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas,' Schumer said Wednesday after Johnson agreed to delaying the articles' transmission.

'Our plan over here has not changed: the Senate is ready to go whenever the House is. We want to address this issue as expeditiously as possible.'

'And as I said yesterday, impeachment should never be used to settle policy disagreements. That sets an awful precedent.'

Schumer stating that the Senate will work quickly on the matter without providing further detail shows how closely he is holding his cards to his chest.

Will Democrats move to quash the trial for Mayorkas?

He has several routes forward upon receiving the articles.

First, he could put the articles up for an immediate vote, which could and likely would result in the Democrats voting to table the motion, meaning there would be no impeachment trial in the Senate and Mayorkas would be cleared of wrongdoing.

Democrats control the Senate by a slim majority of 51-49, but some Republicans have indicated that they would vote to dismiss because there is no path forward for a trial.

Second, he could proceed by swearing in the Senate as jurors in the case, which would then enable the House impeachment managers to argue their case against Mayorkas before the upper chamber.

After hearing the case, the Senate would then vote on the articles.

Schumer's third option is to send the articles into committee for review.

The special committee would then investigate the articles of impeachment and would later provide recommendations for how the Senate should move forward.

In that case, the Senate floor would not be jammed up with impeachment proceedings, allowing them to legislate on other matters while simultaneously addressing Mayorkas' impeachment.

Still, how Schumer wants to move forward is remains to be seen.

Senate Republicans are hoping for a full trial as they argue it is the Senate's Constitutional duty.

But as the Senate is controlled by Democrats, it appears unlikely Schumer will decide to move forward in that matter.