House to send Mayorkas impeachment articles to the Senate, forcing a trial

WASHINGTON (AP) — House Speaker Mike Johnson says he is sending impeachment charges against Alejandro Mayorkas to the Senate on Tuesday, forcing senators to convene a trial on the allegations that the Homeland Security secretary has “willfully and systematically” refused to enforce existing immigration laws. But the proceedings may not last long.

Majority Democrats have said the GOP case against Mayorkas doesn’t rise to the “high crimes and misdemeanors” laid out as a bar for impeachment in the Constitution, and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., likely has enough votes to end the trial immediately if he decides to do so. The proceedings will not begin until Wednesday.

Opening the Senate for the week, Schumer said he wants to “address this issue as expeditiously as possible.”