Washington — House Republicans postponed sending the articles of impeachment against Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas to the Senate until next week, amid concerns over the timing of an impeachment trial that Senate Democrats are expected to quickly move to dismiss.
“To ensure the Senate has adequate time to perform its constitutional duty, the House will transmit the articles of impeachment to the Senate next week,” a spokesperson for Speaker Mike Johnson said in a statement.
Johnson and the 11 impeachment managers penned a letter to Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer last month saying they would present the articles of impeachment to the upper chamber on Wednesday, April 10, urging the Senate leader to schedule a trial “expeditiously.” Senators were expected to be sworn in the next day, under Senate rules. But concerns about GOP attendance for what would likely be a late vote on Thursday seemed to give Republicans pause.
Schumer said Tuesday afternoon that “we’re going to try and resolve this issue as quickly as possible.” And With Democrats and Democratic-leaning independents controlling 51 seats in the Senate, they’re expected to vote to dismiss or delay the proceedings with a simple majority, if they can remain united. Any Republican absences would make it easier for Democrats to do so.
Sen. Mike Lee, a Utah Republican, told reporters that the impeachment articles were now set to be transmitted from the House next Monday.
“We don’t want this to come over on the eve of the moment when members might be operating under the influence of jet-fume intoxication,” Lee added at a news conference, saying it’s better for the Senate to take up the issue at the beginning of the week.
GOP Senate Whip John Thune told reporters Tuesday afternoon that if Republicans want to have the opportunity to have a “more fulsome discussion” once the articles come over from the House, “there are times when that could probably happen better than having it come over tomorrow night and then trying to deal with it Thursday afternoon.”
Nikole Killion, Alejandro Alvarez contributed reporting.