How the Mayorkas impeachment process could be cut short

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The impeachment trial of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas is set to begin this week.

When House Republicans delivered the articles Tuesday, it jump-started impeachment proceedings that will bring unprecedented questions of process to the Senate.

Senate impeachment proceedings are expected to start at 1 p.m. ET Wednesday. Watch it in the player above.

House Republican leadership initially planned to send the articles to the U.S. Senate on April 10, but delayed the process after some Senate Republicans requested more time to build support for holding a full trial.

Here’s what you need to know.

First, the basics.

• Mayorkas faces two articles of impeachment.
• Article I. Willful and systemic refusal to comply with the law. House Republicans accuse the Homeland Security chief of refusing to detain undocumented immigrants and secure the border. Mayorkas and Democrats reject this claim as overtly political.
• Article II. Breach of public trust. House Republicans argue that Mayorkas lied to Congress when he testified that the U.S. has operational control of the border, citing interviews with Border Patrol officers who feel otherwise. Mayorkas and Democrats say he was speaking about general control, not to a literal interpretation of the statutory definition that views any illegal entry as a security breach at the border.
• The Republican-controlled House passed these articles by the narrowest margin possible — a single vote — in February.
• The impeachment vote was partisan. Only Republicans voted yes. Every Democrat and three Republicans voted against impeachment.

What’s happening this week?

• On Tuesday, House managers plan to walk the articles over to the Senate.
• The next legislative day, the Senate is likely to begin, and end, his trial.
• Two likely scenarios: Our reporting is that Senate Democrats will either move to dismiss the charges or table the articles of impeachment. Either move would avoid a full trial.
• What about Mayorkas himself? The Homeland chief has signaled that he’s “not distracted” by the politics or proceedings.

Why is this impeachment “unprecedented”?

Congress has never impeached a sitting Cabinet officer before.

There was an impeachment trial for William Belknap in 1876. The House of Representatives moved to impeach then-Secretary of War William Belknap in 1876, charging him with corruption. But he resigned minutes before the House took the impeachment vote. He was firmly out of office when the Senate held its trial. (And acquitted him.)

This makes Mayorkas the first Cabinet secretary to be in office for impeachment. And only the second-ever impeached.

Why is this an “unprecedented question of process”?

Not only is this the first impeachment of a sitting Cabinet officer, Democrats may make it the first time that senators have dismissed an impeachment out of hand, with no substantial trial arguments.

Some Senate Republicans and most all House Republicans are incensed about this idea. They argue that a full trial is a “constitutional obligation.”

Can the Senate dismiss the charges without a full trial?

This is somewhat debated. But the answer is yes, according to constitutional scholars in both parties and retired Senate staffers the NewsHour has spoken with.

Senate impeachment trials are governed by the U.S. Constitution, foremost. But it offers little specifics on the process, other than, “The Senate shall have the sole Power to try all Impeachments. When sitting for that Purpose, they shall be on Oath or Affirmation.”

Other rules for impeachment trials are part of a nine-page section of the Senate manual, helpfully titled, “Rules of procedure and practice in the Senate when sitting on impeachment trials.”

Those rules say nothing about whether the Senate can or cannot move to dismiss a trial.

This is why scholars believe these are powers the Senate retains under the rest of its standing rules and as part of common trial procedure.

What will the Senate do?

First, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer has some decisions to make. He must first decide whether to move to dismiss or to table the articles of impeachment.

A motion to dismiss has some disadvantages. For one, it includes time for debate, for up to two hours total. Another disadvantage? It may be a riskier vote for vulnerable Democrats than a motion to table impeachment.

A motion to table, on the other hand, could be seen as a sort of “nuclear option,” precisely because it would block the chance for any real debate or statement.

While the House impeachment vote was a bare majority, it was still the majority decision of the chamber. Many Republicans could find a motion to immediately table this impeachment as a declaration of “procedural war.”

Bottom line: We expect the Senate to begin and end the Mayorkas trial quickly. Such a decision will be met with vocal objections and protestation from conservative Republicans, who may use points of order to slow down the process.

In the end, the Democratic-controlled Senate can quickly dispose of this impeachment. Doing so would set a precedent, which may make their opponents in the Republican Party give more thought to the same idea, should a president in their party be impeached in the future.