WASHINGTON (AP) — House Republicans will bring their case against Alejandro Mayorkas to the Senate this week, two months after impeaching the Homeland Security secretary. It will be the third time in five years that senators are sworn in as jurors in the court of impeachment.
The Republican-controlled House impeached Mayorkas by a single vote margin on Feb. 13, recommending that Mayorkas be removed from office over his handling of the U.S.-Mexico border. With two articles of impeachment, the House charges that Mayorkas has “willfully and systematically” refused to enforce existing immigration laws and breached the public trust by lying to Congress and saying the border was secure.
After holding back for several weeks, House Speaker Mike Johnson said at the end of March that he would send the two articles to the Senate on April 10.
Unlike former President Donald Trump’s two impeachment trials in 2020 and 2021, though, the Senate isn’t expected to spend much time considering the charges. Democrats who hold the Senate majority appear to have the votes to immediately dismiss the trial, though Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., hasn’t yet said what he plans to do.
Democrats say the charges against Mayorkas amount to a policy dispute, not the “high crimes and misdemeanors” laid out as a bar for impeachment in the Constitution.
Johnson and Senate Republicans are pushing Schumer to hold a full trial. “If he cares about the Constitution and ending the devastation caused by Biden’s border catastrophe, Senator Schumer will quickly schedule a full public trial and hear the arguments put forth by our impeachment managers,” Johnson said in a statement.
The House’s 214-213 impeachment vote in February, a narrowly successful second try after the House had rejected the effort a week earlier, was the first time in nearly 150 years a Cabinet secretary had been impeached. And while the Senate is now obligated to consider the charges, two-thirds of the chamber would have to vote to convict him. Not a single Democrat has signaled support for the impeachment push.
Still, there is a process that senators have to follow under the rules for impeachment. A look at the Senate’s next steps:
Under impeachment rules, a group of House managers — members who act as prosecutors and are appointed by the speaker — will deliver the impeachment charges by reading the articles on the Senate floor, usually after making a ceremonial walk across the Capitol with the articles in hand. Johnson has said that will happen on Wednesday.
Senators are expected to be sworn in as jurors on Thursday, Schumer said in a letter to his colleagues on Friday. The Senate must then issue a summons to Mayorkas to inform him of the charges and ask for a written answer. But he would not have to appear in the Senate at any point.
The president pro tempore of the Senate, Washington Sen. Patty Murray, will preside. She holds that role as the most senior member of the majority party.
What happens after the Senate jurors are sworn in is less clear. The rules generally allow the Senate to decide how to proceed.
If Schumer can muster a simple majority, Democrats could dismiss the trial outright or move to table the two impeachment articles, ending the House’s effort and allowing the Senate to move on to other business.
While Schumer hasn’t yet revealed his plans, he is expected to try and dismiss the trial in some manner, if he has the votes. Democrats control the Senate, 51-49.
Getting to 51 votes would require every single Democrat and the chamber’s three Independents to vote to dismiss, or potentially fewer if any Republicans join them. So far, no Democrats or Independents have expressed support for moving ahead with an impeachment trial.
In his letter to colleagues Friday, Schumer told senators that their presence is “essential” when they will be sworn in as jurors Thursday — hinting that there may be a close vote held that day.
While several GOP senators have questioned the need for a trial, it’s unclear whether any of them would go as far as to vote to dismiss the charges right at the start. One possibility is Utah Sen. Mitt Romney, who said earlier this year that he would be inclined to vote with Democrats if they hold a vote to dismiss.
Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky predicted last week at an event in his home state of Kentucky that Schumer will file a motion to dismiss or table the charges.
“The Democrats have the majority so it may not go on very long,” McConnell said. “My preference would be to actually have a trial but I think the majority’s likely to prevent that.”
If Democrats are not able to dismiss the trial or table the articles, there is a second option: They could follow the precedent of several impeachment trials for federal judges over the last century and hold a vote to create a trial committee that would investigate the charges.
While there are no hard rules on how to form a trial committee, the Senate has previously passed a resolution authorizing the party leaders to each recommend six senators and a chairperson to run it. Those committees had the ability to call witnesses and issue final reports to the Senate ahead of eventual trials.
While there is sufficient precedent for this approach, Democrats are likely to try and avoid it if they can halt the process completely, especially in a presidential election year where immigration and border security are top issues.
Echoing Trump’s defense during his impeachments, Schumer has called the House effort a “sham.”
“House Republicans failed to produce any evidence that Secretary Mayorkas has committed any crime,” Schumer said shortly after the House voted to impeach him. “House Republicans failed to show he has violated the Constitution. House Republicans failed to present any evidence of anything resembling an impeachable offense.”
If the Senate were to proceed to a trial, senators would be forced to sit in their seats for the duration, maybe weeks, while the House impeachment managers and lawyers representing Mayorkas make their cases. The Senate is allowed to call witnesses, as well, if it so decides. Senators also have an opportunity to question the two sides before a final vote on whether to convict.
In a February letter led by Utah Sen. Mike Lee, 13 Senate Republicans argued that a trial is necessary, writing that Democrats should not be able to “shirk their Constitutional duty.”
At a briefing with reporters on Friday, Mayorkas appeared unconcerned.
“When I say that I am not focused on the impeachment proceedings, I actually mean it,” Mayorkas said. “It is my hope that my time is not taken away from my work.”
Underscoring that stance, Mayorkas will be at a Senate committee on Wednesday to testify about his department’s budget proposal.
Associated Press writers Stephen Groves in Washington and Bruce Schreiner in Shelbyville, Kentucky, contributed to this report.
FILE - Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas testifies during a hearing of the Senate Appropriations Committee on Capitol Hill, Nov. 8, 2023, in Washington. House Republicans will bring their case against Mayorkas to the Senate on April 10, 2024, two months after impeaching him. It will be the third time in five years that senators are sworn in as jurors in the court of impeachment. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon, File)
HOUSTON (AP) — As the head of the Federal Emergency Management Agency toured the Houston area on Tuesday to assess the damage from last week’s deadly storms, local officials reassured residents still without power that their lights would be back on and they could soon begin rebuilding their lives.
Houston Mayor John Whitmire said crews with CenterPoint Energy had been working hard to restore power to residents dealing with temperatures of about 90 degrees (32 Celsius) and heat indexes approaching 100 degrees (38 Celsius).
At the height of the power outages, nearly 1 million people in the Houston area were without electricity. By Tuesday evening, that was down to less than 95,000.
“We’re on top of it. No one is being neglected,” Whitmire said.
The widespread destruction of last Thursday’s storms left at least eight dead and brought much of Houston to a standstill. Thunderstorms and hurricane-force winds tore through the city, reducing businesses and other structures to piles of debris, uprooting trees and shattering glass from downtown skyscrapers. A tornado also touched down near the northwest Houston suburb of Cypress.
Some downtown streets remained closed as crews continued cleaning up glass as the strong winds damaged 3,250 windows on high-rise buildings. Officials said it could take months to repair all the windows.
The deadly winds tore through a wide swath of Harris County, where Houston is located, causing damage and knocking out the power in both lower income and wealthier neighborhoods.
Last week’s storms took place as the Houston area and several Texas counties to the north were still recovering from flooding caused by heavy rainfall in late April and early May.
FEMA has approved small business loans and federal disaster assistance, which can help pay for temporary housing and repairs, for both weather events.
More than 48,000 people in the affected counties that were declared disaster areas have already applied for assistance, FEMA Administrator Deanne Criswell said Tuesday. The agency has already issued more than $1 million in help to residents.
“We know that thousands in the region are still without power. So again, I encourage you to continue to check in on your loved ones, your neighbors, your vulnerable individuals in your communities and make sure that they’re OK,” Criswell said.
Lisa Reed, a teacher who lives in the Cloverleaf neighborhood in east Harris County, had been without power for four days before finally getting it back Monday evening.
“I felt exhilarated. It was real good to be just back in my own home,” Reed said.
But Reed said one of her daughters and her son, who both live nearby, were still without power on Tuesday. Even with the power back on, some of Reed’s neighbors were dealing with sparking wires and other electrical problems.
“It’s frustrating seeing people struggle. You wish you could do more,” she said. “Everyone doesn’t have the resources.”
Harris County Commissioner Lesley Briones, whose home still didn’t have power on Tuesday, said the deadly storms have had a severe impact on many lower-income residents.
In one area in the Spring Branch neighborhood in northwest Harris County, many damaged apartment complexes are “completely unlivable” with damaged roofs and debris that is not being cleaned up by landlords or owners. Briones said many of the families in these complexes are living paycheck to paycheck.
“The choice is to stay in these substandard, unlivable conditions or be homeless. And so, we are working actively on the long-term legal issues,” she said.
Michelle Hundley, a spokesperson for CenterPoint Energy, said the utility provider still expected to restore power to more than 90% of customers by Wednesday. If someone didn’t have power by Wednesday, it would most likely be due to damaged equipment at their home that the homeowner would need to fix.
“Certainly our linemen and all of our employees are very diligent in working to make sure that your electricity is up and running, and we will do the absolute best that we can,” Hundley said.
Harris County Commissioner Adrian Garcia said some underserved communities might feel left out “because they see lights in nicer-looking neighborhoods go up. I just want to say you’re not forgotten. You’re not left behind.”
Authorities had initially reported the deadly storms were being blamed for at least seven deaths. On Sunday, authorities raised the total to eight to include a man who died from carbon monoxide poisoning while running a generator after his power went out.
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FEMA Administrator Deanne Criswell, fourth from left, visits an apartment complex damaged by severe storms the previous week at Spring Branch in Houston, Tuesday, May 21, 2024. (Yi-Chin Lee/Houston Chronicle via AP)
FEMA Administrator Deanne Criswell, center, visits an apartment complex damaged by severe storms with Houston Mayor John Whitmire, right, Tuesday, May 21, 2024, at Spring Branch in Houston. (Yi-Chin Lee/Houston Chronicle via AP)
FEMA Administrator Deanne Criswell talks to parents while visiting damaged Sinclair Elementary School, Tuesday, May 21, 2024, at Timbergrove in Houston. (Yi-Chin Lee/Houston Chronicle via AP)
FEMA Administrator Deanne Criswell, center, visits an apartment complex damaged by severe storms at Spring Branch in Houston, Tuesday, May 21, 2024. (Yi-Chin Lee/Houston Chronicle via AP)
FEMA Administrator Deanne Criswell joins Houston elected officials in a press conference regarding recovery and assistance after last week's storms, Tuesday, May 21, 2024 at Fondé Community Center in Houston. (Yi-Chin Lee/Houston Chronicle via AP)
U.S. Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee uses a portable fan provided by Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo's staff while visiting damaged Sinclair Elementary School, Tuesday, May 21, 2024, at Timbergrove in Houston. (Yi-Chin Lee/Houston Chronicle via AP)
From front left, Francisco Sánchez Jr., associate administrator for the U.S. Small Business Administration's Office of Disaster Recovery & Resilience, FEMA Administrator Deanne Criswell and Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo visit Sinclair Elementary School after it was damaged by severe storms from the previous week, Tuesday, May 21, 2024, at Timbergrove in Houston. (Yi-Chin Lee/Houston Chronicle via AP)
Utility trucks line Grovewood Lane to assist recovery from last week's severe storms, Tuesday, May 21, 2024, at Timbergrove in Houston. (Yi-Chin Lee/Houston Chronicle via AP)
People affected by recent severe storms wait in line for assistance at a FEMA mobile unit Tuesday, May 21, 2024, at Spring Branch Family Development Center in Houston. (Yi-Chin Lee/Houston Chronicle via AP)
FEMA Administrator Deanne Criswell, blue FEMA hat, visits an apartment complex damaged by severe storms with Houston Mayor John Whitmire, to her right, and Harris County Precinct 4 Commissioner Lesley Briones, to her left, Tuesday, May 21, 2024, at Spring Branch in Houston. (Yi-Chin Lee/Houston Chronicle via AP)
Lisa Reed, a teacher, sits outside her home in the Harris County neighborhood of Cloverleaf near Houston on Sunday, May 19, 2024. Reed said she sat outside because it was too hot to be inside since her home was still without electricity because of last week's storms in the Houston area. The powerful storms knocked down a tree in Reed's front yard, smashing it through the windshield of a family truck. (AP Photo/ Juan A. Lozano)
FILE - Glass falls from above as workers clean out shattered glass at the Wells Fargo building as clean up from the previous week's storm continues in downtown Houston, Monday, May 20, 2024. (Brett Coomer/Houston Chronicle via AP, file)
FILE - Workers clean out shattered glass at the Wells Fargo building as clean up from the previous week's storm continues in downtown Houston, Monday, May 20, 2024. (Brett Coomer/Houston Chronicle via AP, file)
