Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La) and House Republican impeachment managers have informed Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) via letter that they will send two impeachment charges against Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas to the Senate on April 10.
House Republicans are accusing the Homeland Security Secretary of "high crimes and misdemeanors" that include willful and systemic refusal to comply with the law and breach of public trust.
The charges will arrive in the upper chamber after senators return to Washington following a two-week Easter recess. This forces the Senate to take up the matter formally.
Majority Leader Chuck Schumer must then decide whether or not to hold a full trial on the Senate floor, vote to dismiss the charges immediately, or refer it to a special evidentiary committee.
"We urge you to schedule a trial of the matter expeditiously," Johnson wrote in a letter also signed by House Homeland Security Committee Chair Mark Green (R-Tenn.) and House Foreign Affairs Committee Chair Michael McCaul (R-Texas)."The evidence on both charges is clear, comprehensive, and compelling, and the House's solemn act to impeach the first sitting Cabinet official in American history demands timely action by the Senate," they wrote.
Charges require a vote of two-thirds of the Senate to convict Mayorkas and remove him from his post.
"If he cares about the Constitution and ending the devastation caused by Biden's border catastrophe, Sen. Schumer will quickly schedule a full public trial and hear the arguments put forth by our impeachment managers," Johnson said in a statement after releasing the letter.
On February 13, the House voted to impeach Mayorkas on two charges by a one-vote margin, 214-213 a week after an earlier vote failed 214-216.
Three House Republicans joined Democrats in voting against the charges: Reps. Ken Buck (R-Colo.), Mike Gallagher (R-Wis.) and Tom McClintock (R-Calif.).
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) on Thursday reiterated its earlier statement calling the move a "baseless, unconstitutional impeachment."
"House Republicans will be remembered by history for trampling on the Constitution for political gain rather than working to solve the serious challenges at our border," DHS said in a statement, noting that Mayorkas spent weeks working with a bipartisan group of Senate negotiators on an immigration package.
"Without a shred of evidence or legitimate Constitutional grounds, and despite bipartisan opposition, House Republicans have falsely smeared a dedicated public servant who has spent more than 20 years enforcing our laws and serving our country."
Schumer has refused to say how he will handle the impeachment articles.
