(NewsNation) — House Republicans delivered articles of impeachment against Alejandro Mayorkas to the Senate hours after the Homeland Security secretary testified in front of a congressional committee Tuesday.
Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson chose 11 representatives to walk the two articles across the Capitol. This move means the Senate is obligated to convene a trial on them under the rules of impeachment, although Democrats have signaled they will oppose Mayorkas’ ouster, calling the attempt a politically motivated “sham.” Democratic lawmakers could move to table the articles or even just dismiss them outright.
Rep. Mark Green, a Tennessee Republican and chairman of the Homeland Security Committee, read the articles in front of the Senate Tuesday. Proceedings are slated to begin Wednesday, with senators being sworn in as jurors. Although the Senate will send a summons to Mayorkas to inform him of the charges and request a written answer, he will not have to physically appear in the Senate, according to the Associated Press.
Mayorkas became the first cabinet secretary to be impeached in about 150 years. Republicans in the House of Representatives allege that Mayorkas failed to enforce immigration laws and that he lied to Congress under oath when he said the border is “operationally secure.”
In a statement after the House vote to impeach him, Mayorkas denied these claims.
“House Republicans will be remembered by history for trampling on the Constitution for political gain rather than working to solve the serious challenges at our border,” Mayorkas said at the time.
This week, as he opened the Senate, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said he wants to “address this issue as expeditiously as possible.”
“Impeachment should never be used to settle a policy disagreement,” Schumer said. “That would set a horrible precedent for the Congress.”
Johnson, meanwhile, said Schumer should hold a trial to “hold those who engineered this crisis to full account.”
“Senator Schumer is the only impediment to delivering accountability for the American people,” Johnson said. “Pursuant to the Constitution, the House demands a trial.”
If the Senate were to proceed to an impeachment trial, it would be the third in five years. Democrats impeached President Donald Trump twice, once over his dealings with Ukraine and a second time in the days after the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol. Trump was acquitted by the Senate both times.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.