Texas Leaders Continue Push for Mayorkas Impeachment Trial in Senate

Texas Republicans were outraged when the Senate dismissed the House-passed articles of Mayorkas impeachment without a trial. Senators Ted Cruz and John Cornyn have been vocal critics of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, citing his handling of the border crisis. They pushed back strongly against the majority leader’s move to end consideration of the Mayorkas impeachment without substantive debate.

Cruz and Cornyn proposed resolutions on the Senate floor seeking to establish trial rules for the Mayorkas impeachment proceeding. This would have allowed Republicans a chance to publicly scrutinize the Secretary’s border policies and present their case for his alleged “failure to enforce federal law.” However, Democrats blocked these efforts to have a full evidentiary discussion of the Mayorkas impeachment charges.

Precedent Concerns over Dismissing Impeachment

In questioning before the dismissal vote, Cornyn raised worries about precedents established if an impeachment referral could be so easily rejected without examination. Both he and Cruz noted that even President Bill Clinton received a trial after his impeachment. They believe voters deserved to hear the arguments around Secretary Mayorkas’ alleged misconduct rather than have the Mayorkas impeachment swept aside.

After the vote, Cruz passionately argued Democrats had shirked their constitutional duties by refusing to even consider evidence on the Mayorkas impeachment. He vowed the issue would not be forgotten, predicting voters would punish those who dismissed valid concerns about the border crisis. For Texas Republicans, debate on the House-passed Mayorkas impeachment articles is far from over.