At a Tuesday afternoon news conference, Utah Sen. Mike Lee joined some of his Republican colleagues to decry Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer’s plans to table or dismiss the impeachment of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas when House Republicans deliver the case to them.
In February, House Republicans impeached Mayorkas on a 214-213 vote, accusing him of refusing to enforce immigration laws. House impeachment managers, including Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia, could present the case to the Senate as early as Wednesday. Democrats, including Schumer, have called the process a “sham” and “absurd.” Schumer has signaled he plans to quickly dismiss the case without holding a trial.
The House of Representatives has passed 21 Articles of Impeachment. Only four of those have not gone to trial in the Senate because the impeached person had either left office or died.
“Secretary Mayorkas is very much alive and still the Secretary of Homeland Security,” Lee said dryly. “Why don’t they (Senate Democrats) want to hold the trial given that we have a sworn duty consistent with our oath to uphold the Constitution to conduct this trial?”
Lee, ignoring the assault on the Capitol during the attempted insurrection on Jan. 6, 2021, said refusing to conduct a trial would be “the most violent act undertaken at the United States Senate” since former Nevada Sen. Harry Reid ended the filibuster for most judicial nominees.
“This is certainly the most violent act undertaken at the United States Senate, violence against the institution of the Senate and its time-honored traditions since November of 2013 when Harry Reid deployed the ‘nuclear option,’” Lee said. “In a sense, this is even more serious.”
“When we depart, we relinquish, we shun, we run from our own obligations, just for the sake of ease, for the sake of avoidance of criticism, that’s the road to tyranny, folks,” he said.
Sen. Mitt Romney said Tuesday he did not believe there was a basis for impeaching Mayorkas.
“Secretary Mayorkas is following the position of his party and of the president who was elected. We have pointed out that President Biden is for open borders, as are the Democrats, and Mayorkas is simply following that policy,” Romney told reporters. “It’s the wrong policy. It has a huge damaging effect on the country — but it’s not a high crime or misdemeanor.”
Romney would not say whether he would vote to table or dismiss the articles of impeachment when they are delivered to the Senate.
Texas Sen. Ted Cruz threatened that Republicans would enact legislative retaliation if Democrats shirk their constitutional responsibility by trying Mayorkas for impeachment.
“Remember, what’s good for the goose is good for the gander,” Cruz said. “When House Democrats impeached Donald Trump the first time, Republicans had a majority. We could have done this. We didn’t because we actually took our constitutional responsibilities seriously. I can promise you the next time we see an impeachment, if the Senate is in the same party as the president, you’re not going to see a trial.”
In late 2019, as the House of Representatives was moving to impeach Trump for pressuring Ukraine to help his 2020 reelection campaign, Lee and other Republicans took part in discussions with Trump White House officials over what strategy to employ during a Senate trial, including possibly dismissing the case.
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