Senate rejects impeachment articles against Mayorkas, ending trial against Cabinet secretary

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Senate dismissed all impeachment charges against Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas on Wednesday, ending the House Republican push to remove the Cabinet secretary from office over his handling of the U.S.-Mexico border and shutting down his trial before arguments even began.

Senators voted to dismiss both articles of impeachment and end the proceedings, with Democrats arguing that the articles were unconstitutional. The first article charged Mayorkas with “willful and systemic refusal to comply" with immigration law and second article charged him with a “breach of trust” for saying the border was secure. The votes were 51-48 and 51-49, both along party lines.

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said the House Republicans’ charges failed to meet “the high standard of high crimes and misdemeanors” and could set a dangerous precedent.

“For the sake of the Senate’s integrity and to protect impeachment for those rare cases we truly need it, senators should dismiss today’s charges,” said Schumer, D-N.Y., as he opened Wednesday’s session.

Senate Republicans had argued for a full impeachment trial after the House narrowly voted in February to impeach Mayorkas for his handling of the border, stating in the two articles that he “willfully and systematically” refused to enforce immigration laws.

An outright dismissal of House Republicans’ prosecution of Mayorkas, with no chance to argue the case, is an embarrassing defeat for House Republicans and embattled House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., who made the impeachment a priority. And it is likely to resonate politically for both Republicans and Democrats in a presidential election year when border security has been a top issue.

Republicans argue that President Joe Biden has been weak on the border as arrests for illegal crossings skyrocketed to more than 2 million people during the last two years of his term, though they have fallen from a record high of 250,000 in December amid heightened enforcement in Mexico. Democrats say that instead of impeaching Mayorkas, Republicans should have accepted a bipartisan Senate compromise aimed at reducing the number of migrants who come into the U.S. illegally.

House impeachment managers delivered the charges to the Senate on Tuesday, standing in the well of the Senate and reading them aloud to a captive audience. But they did not get a chance to present the case before the Senate dismissed it.

The historic nature of the trial — the first time in nearly 150 years that a Cabinet secretary was impeached — contrasted with the almost routine feel of the proceedings after senators have sat through two previous impeachment trials against former President Donald Trump in 2020 and 2021. And with a quick dismissal almost inevitable, the Senate never even set up the chamber for the occasion, which usually includes tables on each side for the impeachment managers and defense lawyers.

Still, there was a bit of the traditional pomp. As the trial began, senators approached the front of the Senate in groups of four to sign an oath book that is stored in the National Archives.

Schumer called for the votes to dismiss the two charges after Republicans rejected a proposed agreement for Senate debate time and several votes on GOP objections. Missouri Sen. Eric Schmitt stood in the chamber and said Republicans wouldn't accept Schumer's offer because Democrats were “bulldozing 200 years of precedent" on impeachments by trying to dismiss the trial.

Angry Republicans called for several votes to delay the inevitable final outcome, but none of them passed as Democrats and three Independents held together.

Frustrated, Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., said “history will not judge this moment well.”

“This process must not be abused," McConnell said. "It must not be short-circuited."

At the same time, Republicans similarly moved to dismiss former President Donald Trump's second impeachment trial in 2021, weeks after the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol. All but five GOP senators — including McConnell — voted to end the trial, arguing it was unconstitutional because Trump had already left office.

After Democrats dismissed the charges, Johnson and members of his House GOP leadership team said in a joint statement that “by voting unanimously to bypass their constitutional responsibility, every single Senate Democrat has issued their full endorsement of the Biden Administration’s dangerous open border policies."

Even if the Senate had held a trial, Republicans would not have been able to win the support of the two-thirds of the Senate that is needed to convict and remove Mayorkas from office — Democrats control the Senate, 51-49, and they remained united against the impeachment effort. Not one House Democrat supported it, either.

Even some Republicans questioned the impeachment effort from the start. Utah Sen. Mitt Romney had said for weeks that he was considering voting with Democrats to dismiss the charges but ultimately voted with his own party. After the votes, he said he does not believe the charges rise to high crimes but he did not want to dismiss them because “it was important to engage in some level of debate.”

Mayorkas, who was in New York on Wednesday to launch a campaign for children’s online safety, reiterated that he’s focused on the work of his department. “The Senate is going to do what the Senate considers to be appropriate as that proceeds,” he said. “I am here in New York City on Wednesday morning fighting online sexual exploitation and abuse. I’m focused on our mission.”

Department spokeswoman Mia Ehrenberg said after the votes that the Senate's decision to end the trial “proves definitively that there was no evidence or Constitutional grounds to justify impeachment.”

Johnson delayed sending the articles to the Senate for weeks while both chambers finished work on government funding legislation and took a two-week recess. Johnson had said he would send them to the Senate last week, but he punted again after Senate Republicans said they wanted more time to prepare.

At a hearing with Mayorkas on Tuesday about President Joe Biden's budget request for the department, some of the House impeachment managers previewed the arguments they would have made.

Tennessee Rep. Mark Green, the chairman of the House Homeland Security panel, told the secretary he has a duty under the law to control and guard U.S. borders, and “during your three years as secretary, you have failed to fulfill this oath. You have refused to comply with the laws passed by Congress, and you have breached the public trust.”

Mayorkas defended the department's efforts but said the nation's immigration system is “fundamentally broken, and only Congress can fix it."

The impeachment trial was the third in five years. Democrats impeached Trump twice, once over his dealings with Ukraine and the second time in the days after the Capitol attack. Trump was acquitted by the Senate both times.

Schumer said the charges against Mayorkas did not compare to those against Trump and were engineered to help the former president as he runs again this year. He said the Republican charges were policy disputes, not high crimes, and it was important to set a precedent.

“Secretary Mayorkas has not been accused of treason or accepting bribes or unlawfully attacking our elections or anything of the sort,” Schumer said. “He did not blackmail a foreign power to dig dirt on a political opponent. Nor did he incite a violent mob to wage an insurrection against the peaceful transfer of power.”

He called the Republican case “an illegitimate and profane abuse of the U.S. Constitution.”

Connecticut Sen. Chris Murphy, a Democrat, acknowledged that dismissing the trial was “a different Senate process," but said the “risk of normalizing what the House did is bigger than the risk of establishing a new precedent in the Senate.”

Associated Press writer Elliot Spagat in San Diego, California contributed to this report.

In this image from video from Senate Television, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell of Ky., signs the oath book during the impeachment trial of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas on the Senate floor at the U.S. Capitol, Wednesday, April 17, 2024, in Washington. (Senate Television via AP)

In this image from video from Senate Television, Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., presiding over the Senate acting as a court of impeachment, announces the results of the vote to adjourn the court of impeachment, at the impeachment trial of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas on the Senate floor at the U.S. Capitol, Wednesday, April 17, 2024, in Washington. (Senate Television via AP)

In this image from video from Senate Television, Senate Sergeant at Arms Karen Gibson makes the proclamation during the impeachment trial of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas on the Senate floor at the U.S. Capitol, Wednesday, April 17, 2024, in Washington. (Senate Television via AP)

In this image from video from Senate Television, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer of N.Y., speaks during the impeachment trial of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas on the Senate floor at the U.S. Capitol, Wednesday, April 17, 2024, in Washington. (Senate Television via AP)

In this image from video from Senate Television, Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., swears senators in for the impeachment trial of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas on the Senate floor at the U.S. Capitol, Wednesday, April 17, 2024, in Washington. (Senate Television via AP)

In this image from video from Senate Television, Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., signs the impeachment book for Secretary of the Senate Sonceria Berry during the impeachment trial of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas on the Senate floor at the U.S. Capitol, Wednesday, April 17, 2024, in Washington. (Senate Television via AP)

In this image from video from Senate Television, Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., presides over the court of impeachment and prepares to swear senators in for the impeachment trial of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas on the Senate floor at the U.S. Capitol, Wednesday, April 17, 2024, in Washington. (Senate Television via AP)

In this image from video from Senate Television, Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., is sworn in to preside by Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, during the impeachment trial of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas on the Senate floor at the U.S. Capitol, Wednesday, April 17, 2024, in Washington. (Senate Television via AP)

In this image from video from Senate Television, Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., swears senators in for the impeachment trial of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas on the Senate floor at the U.S. Capitol, Wednesday, April 17, 2024, in Washington. (Senate Television via AP)

Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas testifies before the House Committee on Homeland Security during a hearing on "A Review of the Fiscal Year 2025 Budget Request for the Department of Homeland Security" on Capitol Hill in Washington, Tuesday, April 16, 2024. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana)

Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas testifies before the House Committee on Homeland Security during a hearing on "A Review of the Fiscal Year 2025 Budget Request for the Department of Homeland Security" on Capitol Hill in Washington, Tuesday, April 16, 2024. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana)

Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas is sworn-in before the House Committee on Homeland Security during a hearing on "A Review of the Fiscal Year 2025 Budget Request for the Department of Homeland Security" on Capitol Hill in Washington, Tuesday, April 16, 2024. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana)

House Impeachment Managers from left, Rep. Michael Guest, R-Miss., Rep. Andy Biggs, R-Ariz., House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Michael McCaul, R-Texas, House Committee on Homeland Security Chairman Mark Green, R-Tenn., and Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., walk cross the Capitol Rotunda to the Senate chamber to deliver Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas' Impeachment Articles at the Capitol in Washington, Tuesday, April 16, 2024. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana)

VANCOUVER, British Columbia (AP) — Roman Josi and Alexandre Carrier scored goals and the Nashville Predators kept their season alive with a 2-1 victory over the Vancouver Canucks in Game 5 of their first-round playoff series on Tuesday night.

Filip Forsberg assisted on both goals and Juuse Saros made 19 saves as the Predators narrowed their deficit in the best-of-seven matchup to 3-2.

Nikita Zadorov scored for the Canucks and rookie goalie Arturs Silovs stopped 20 shots.

The series returns to Nashville for Game 6 on Friday night.

Predators coach Andrew Brunette said his top players knew they needed to step up.

“All year they’ve kind of done it. Proud of them, the resiliency they showed. It was tough,” he said. “It’s been a tough series to create a whole lot, they’re offensive guys. But they stuck with it, and the message was it might take forever to get it, but keep pounding on the door, and I thought they did a really good job just staying true to themselves."

The Canucks had a chance to earn a few days rest, but instead, the team is taking another trip to Tennessee.

“It just sucks. We had a chance to close them out at home with a lead,” said Canucks forward J.T. Miller.

“The margins are obviously close and every little mistake is going to cost you this time of year. It is what it is. It’s going to be a hard-fought series. We didn’t think coming in that it was going to be a five-gamer. And (the Predators) played well tonight.”

Vancouver poured on the pressure early, creating a flurry of chances in the game’s opening minutes.

Ryan McDonagh tried to beat the 23-year-old Silovs with a drag move midway through the first period, but the goalie reached up and snatched the puck out of the air.

Vancouver’s best chance of the first came in the final seconds when Miller bolted out of the penalty box, collected the puck for a breakaway, and sent a wrist shot just wide of the net.

The Predators came into the second with a burst of offensive force, and outshot the home side 11-4 in the period.

Cole Smith unleashed a one-timer from the middle of the faceoff circle 33 seconds into the frame, hitting the top of Silovs’ blocker. The goalie watched the rebound drop to the ice and pounced to cover it up.

Midway through the second, Nashville got another prime chance, this time while down a man.

With Anthony Beauvillier in the box for hooking, Kiefer Sherwood streaked down the ice on a short-handed breakaway but his shot hit the post.

Vancouver went 0 for 2 on the power play Tuesday while Nashville was 1 for 4.

The Canucks broke through 3:11 into the third period when Zadorov fired a sharp-angle shot under the crossbar from just above the goal line.

The Predators evened the score with a power-play goal 7:15 into the third after Dakota Joshua was called for boarding.

Silovs stopped Josi on a breakaway, freezing the puck under his body, only to be pushed into the net, with the puck squirting lose and skittering across the goal line.

Canucks coach Rick Tocchet said he thought about challenging for goaltender interference but wasn’t confident the call would go his way.

The goal snapped the Canucks’ streak of 17 successful penalty kills.

Nashville took the lead 12:46 into the third when Carrier, using a screen from Ryan O’Reilly, blasted a shot past Silovs from just inside the blue line.

“He’s a heart and soul kid, highly competitive. Love him,” Brunette said of Carrier. “Nice to see him get rewarded in a big-time moment and a big-time play.”

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Vancouver Canucks head coach Rick Tocchet, back center, Carson Soucy (7), Conor Garland (8) and Teddy Blueger (53) watch from the bench after the team was called back out to play the final 0.6 seconds during the second period in Game 5 of an NHL hockey Stanley Cup first-round playoff series against the Nashville Predators, in Vancouver, British Columbia, on Tuesday, April 30, 2024. (Darryl Dyck/The Canadian Press via AP)

Vancouver Canucks' Nikita Zadorov celebrates his goal against the Nashville Predators during the third period in Game 5 of an NHL hockey Stanley Cup first-round playoff series, in Vancouver, British Columbia, on Tuesday, April 30, 2024. (Darryl Dyck/The Canadian Press via AP)

Vancouver Canucks' Nikita Zadorov (91) celebrates his goal with teammates, from left to right, Pius Suter, J.T. Miller, Ian Cole and Brock Boeser as Nashville Predators' Tyson Barrie skates by during the third period in Game 5 of an NHL hockey Stanley Cup first-round playoff series, in Vancouver, British Columbia, on Tuesday, April 30, 2024. (Darryl Dyck/The Canadian Press via AP)

Vancouver Canucks' Nikita Zadorov celebrates his goal against the Nashville Predators during the third period in Game 5 of an NHL hockey Stanley Cup first-round playoff series, in Vancouver, British Columbia, on Tuesday, April 30, 2024. (Darryl Dyck/The Canadian Press via AP)

Nashville Predators goalie Juuse Saros, bottom, stops Vancouver Canucks' Brock Boeser, middle, as he is checked by Nashville Predators' Alexandre Carrier during the third period in Game 5 of an NHL hockey Stanley Cup first-round playoff series, in Vancouver, British Columbia, on Tuesday, April 30, 2024. (Darryl Dyck/The Canadian Press via AP)

Nashville Predators' Alexandre Carrier, from left to right, Ryan O'Reilly, Roman Josi, Gustav Nyquist and Filip Forsberg celebrate Carrier's goal against the Vancouver Canucks during the third period in Game 5 of an NHL hockey Stanley Cup first-round playoff series, in Vancouver, British Columbia, on Tuesday, April 30, 2024. (Darryl Dyck/The Canadian Press via AP)

Nashville Predators goalie Juuse Saros (74) celebrates with Kiefer Sherwood (44) and the rest of the team after defeating the Vancouver Canucks in Game 5 of an NHL hockey Stanley Cup first-round playoff series, in Vancouver, British Columbia, on Tuesday, April 30, 2024. (Darryl Dyck/The Canadian Press via AP)

Nashville Predators players celebrate with goalie Juuse Saros (74) as Vancouver Canucks' Elias Lindholm (23) and Brock Boeser (6) skate off the ice after Nashville defeated Vancouver in Game 5 of an NHL hockey Stanley Cup first-round playoff series, in Vancouver, British Columbia, on Tuesday, April 30, 2024. (Darryl Dyck/The Canadian Press via AP)

Vancouver Canucks' Pius Suter (24) celebrates a goal by Nikita Zadorov, not seen, against Nashville Predators goalie Juuse Saros (74) during the third period in Game 5 of an NHL hockey Stanley Cup first-round playoff series, in Vancouver, British Columbia, on Tuesday, April 30, 2024. (Darryl Dyck/The Canadian Press via AP)

Nashville Predators' Alexandre Carrier (45) celebrates his goal against the Vancouver Canucks during the third period in Game 5 of an NHL hockey Stanley Cup first-round playoff series, in Vancouver, British Columbia, on Tuesday, April 30, 2024. (Darryl Dyck/The Canadian Press via AP)