Senate prepares for Mayorkas impeachment articles while GOP braces for possible dismissal motion

The Senate is preparing to receive articles of impeachment from the House of Representatives for Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas. The looming question remains over what Democrats – who are in the majority in the upper chamber – will look to do after being sworn in as jurors on Wednesday.

Senate Republicans are turning up the pressure on their Democrat counterparts as they warn that Democrats will look to use a procedural maneuver to quickly table a trial against Mayorkas, effectively killing it.

Impeachment managers for the House are going to physically walk the House-passed articles over to the Senate and deliver them to Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., at 2:15 p.m. on Tuesday, Speaker Mike Johnson’s office told Fox News Digital.

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Impeachment articles against DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, center image, will be delivered to Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, left image, on Tuesday as GOP senators, including Ted Cruz, Roger Marshall and Ron Johnson, top right image, among others, pressure Democrats to allow the trial to play out. (Getty Images)

Following the article delivery, several Republicans, including Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, will hold a press conference with some of the selected House impeachment managers. 

The process was initially planned to begin with delivery on Wednesday last week, but GOP senators convinced Johnson to hold off on sending the articles in order to set a trial in motion earlier in the week and not ahead of a weekend when lawmakers would be eager to fly home.

Migrants cross the Rio Grande from Ciudad Juárez, Mexico, on Dec. 5, 2023. (David Peinado/Anadolu via Getty Images)

The articles passed through the House in February, and as Republican senators waited for their arrival in the upper chamber, it’s given them time to pressure their Democrat colleagues, particularly those up for reelection who face competitive races in November. With the border becoming a top issue in states across the country, several vulnerable Democrats find themselves in a difficult position when it comes to entertaining a full impeachment trial against Mayorkas.

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All eyes are on Sens. Bob Casey, D-Pa., Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, Jacky Rosen, D-Nev., Tammy Baldwin, D-Wis., and Jon Tester, D-Mont., ahead of any potential motions to table or otherwise dismiss the impeachment trial after senators are sworn in on Wednesday. Aside from Rosen, who said she would like to see the articles dismissed, the other Democrats didn’t say what they would do if such a motion was under consideration.

If Democrats motion to table an impeachment trial of DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas in the Senate, five vulnerable lawmakers, Sens. Bob Casey, Sherrod Brown, Jacky Rosen, Tammy Baldwin and Jon Tester, could determine the outcome. (Getty Images/File)

It’s also unclear whether Sens. Mitt Romney, R-Utah, Susan Collins, R-Maine, and Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, will go along with the largely united GOP’s quest to see a full trial through. Most recently, Romney questioned whether there were any high crimes or misdemeanors committed, suggesting a policy difference didn’t warrant impeachment.

These few senators will ultimately decide what happens upon swearing in, as the Senate’s party split is narrow at 49-51.

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From left, GOP Sens. Ron Johnson, Roger Marshall, Marsha Blackburn, John Kennedy, Mike Lee and Ted Cruz expressed concern over Sen. Chuck Schumer (inset) and Democrats potentially tabling the Mayorkas impeachment inquiry. (Getty Images/File)

In an effort to force senators to allow a full trial, a number of Senate Republicans are planning to potentially halt all legislative business in the upper chamber by objecting to regular proceedings. With many noting that unanimous consent is necessary to keep the Senate moving, Republicans are preparing to object to traditionally uncontested actions that are taken to expedite Senate action and avoid wasting time.

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In a floor speech on Monday, Senate Democrat Whip Dick Durbin, D-Ill., urged dismissal of the impeachment articles.

“Instead of doing their job and working to find legislative solutions to complex, challenging problems, too many Republicans have decided that impeachment of a Cabinet official for actually doing his job is a better exercise of time,” he said.

He pleaded with his fellow senators to “quickly dispose of these unjustifiable articles of impeachment.”