For the first time in the course of American history, an impeachment case was brought against a sitting House Cabinet member.
On Apr. 17, by votes of 51 to 48 and 51 to 49, the Senate ruled to dismiss the two impeachment cases that had previously been brought against Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas for his controversial handling of border security measures. Ultimately, senators voted to dismiss both articles of impeachment after ruling them to be unconstitutional in nature.
The first article of impeachment Mayorkas was charged with was “willful and systemic refusal to comply” with immigration law and the second article charged him with a “breach of trust” for claiming that the border was insecure. In response, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said the House Republicans’ charges failed to meet “the high standard of high crimes and misdemeanors” and has the potential to set a dangerous precedent.
AP Government and Politics teacher Kristy Pommerenke-Schneider discussed her perspective on the impeachment case, which stems from the increased polarization that has come to define modern political culture.
“Our world has become very political,” Pommerenke-Schneider said. “From what I read and what I saw in the news, I do not think that the Democratic senators and Republican senators could prove that Mayorkas committed treason, high crimes, or misdemeanors. It was a political charge brought against Mayorkas from the House Republicans who wanted to get back at the Democrats for what they saw was an impeachment of Mr. Trump twice.”
Our world has become very political. From what I read and what I saw in the news, I do not think that the Democratic senators and Republican senators could prove that Mayorkas committed treason, high crimes, or misdemeanors.”
— Kristy Pommerenke-Schneider, AP Government and Politics teacher
As arrests for illegal border crossings rose to 2 million people during the last two years of President Joe Biden’s term, Republicans have argued that the president has been overly lenient when it comes to border control. In response, Republican senators accused Mayorkas of failing to adequately enforce immigration laws, making false statements to Congress, and obstructing Republican oversight into the Department of Homeland Security policies.
After Republicans rejected a proposed agreement for Senate debate time and several votes on GOP objections, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer called for the votes to dismiss the two charges brought against Mayorkas. The decision was made arguing that a cabinet member cannot be impeached and removed merely for carrying out the policies of the administration he serves.
Pommerenke-Schneider reflected on Trump’s agenda to gain political leverage in the upcoming 2024 presidential election on the topic of border security and the role these efforts played in Mayorkas’ impeachment trial.
“It is to Trump’s advantage to make the Biden administration look incompetent,” Pommerenke-Schneider said. “All Mr. Trump had to do was put out the word to his Republicans in Congress not to vote for [the proposed Feb. 8 bipartisan border bill to impose stricter immigration policy] so that the border could continue to look chaotic. Then you would have people not vote for Biden and more politicians think that Mayorkas was also part of the problem and that he committed high crimes and misdemeanors.”
In response to the Mayorkas impeachment, Democratic lawmakers have called Republicans’ focus on the issue of immigration “disingenuous”, as GOP leaders, including Trump, have opposed efforts to pass bipartisan immigration reforms that could potentially address some of these challenges.
As a result of increased media attention, immigration has now become a top issue in key swing states that Republicans hope to flip in order to win the 2024 presidency and reclaim Senate seats.
