Senate votes down first impeachment article against DHS Secretary Mayorkas

The first article of impeachment against Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas was deemed unconstitutional by the Senate on Wednesday in a party-line vote. 

The first of two articles of impeachment alleged Mayorkas engaged in the "willful and systemic refusal to comply with the law" regarding the southern border in his capacity as DHS secretary. 

Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., proposed a point of order declaring the article unconstitutional, to which the majority of senators agreed following several failed motions by Republicans.

The article was deemed unconstitutional by a vote of 51-48, with Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska voting present. 

This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.

Inside GOP plan to force as many votes on Mayorkas impeachment trial as possible

Senate Republicans are looking to hold as many votes as possible during the initial proceedings of the impeachment trial into Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas before Democrats in the chamber are expected to succeed in dismissing the trial. 

Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., explicitly stated his intent to seek a dismissal of the House-passed articles of impeachment during a speech on the Senate floor on Wednesday morning. While he had previously indicated that he wanted to quickly get past the proceedings, he had yet to confirm the Democratic plan to dismiss the trial. 

According to five Senate Republican sources familiar with the discussions, the structure of the proceedings is being negotiated with the Democrats. 

SENATORS TO BE SWORN IN FOR MAYORKAS IMPEACHMENT TRIAL AHEAD OF EXPECTED DISMISSAL

The two parties are looking into a potential agreement for unanimous consent, in which Republicans are allowed to propose eight total points of order against the motions to dismiss. Each point of order, or fact that senators determine whether there is agreement on, will require its own vote. Lengthening the process and requiring Democrats to go on record on several components of the impeachment articles against Mayorkas. 

Schumer noted in his chamber floor speech on Wednesday that he would look to appease Republicans by allowing both points of order and debate time. "When we convene in trial today to accommodate the wishes of our Republican Senate colleagues, I will seek an agreement for a period of debate time that would allow Republicans to offer a vote on trial resolutions, allow for Republicans to offer points of order and then move to dismiss," he said. 

HOUSE DELIVERS MAYORKAS IMPEACHMENT ARTICLES TO SCHUMER, SETTING UP TRIAL PROCEEDINGS

This agreement will require that no senator objects, and Schumer urged them not to. 

The unanimous consent agreement which is being sought between the parties would allow 90 minutes of open debate after the senators are sworn in as jurors at 1:00 p.m. Then, two resolutions would receive votes, one from Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, calling for a full Senate trial, and another from Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, that would refer the matter to a Senate Impeachment Trial committee first. 

Representatives for Lee and Cruz did not confirm the unanimous consent agreement discussions before the time of publication. 

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One source noted the GOP was making an effort to use every option possible to require more votes within the impeachment trial process, putting their Democratic colleagues on record as much as possible. 

Following the proposal of each point of order and prior to voting, the deal being discussed for unanimous consent would require four minutes of debate ahead of each vote. This time would be equally divided between the parties. One source explained that some Republican senators see this debate time as an opportunity to have the case for Mayorkas's impeachment heard on the floor, even if it is not in the context of a full trial. 

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Several Senate Republican sources also indicated that the dismissal route, which Schumer revealed he planned to take, was preferable to a motion to table. Tabling the trial has never happened with an impeachment, as GOP senators have noted, and it also does not provide the ability for any arguments from impeachment managers or defense counsel or debate between senators. 

If agreed to, the Mayorkas impeachment trial is likely to ultimately see dismissal, but Republicans will have several opportunities to put Democrats, particularly vulnerable ones who are up for re-election in pivotal states, on the record on multiple immigration and border related topics. 

Senators to be sworn in for Mayorkas impeachment trial ahead of expected dismissal

Senators are set to be sworn in as jurors at 1:00 p.m. on Wednesday to begin consideration of the House-passed articles of impeachment against Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, a process that Republicans have warned that their Democratic colleagues will try to quickly end. 

House impeachment managers officially delivered the articles of impeachment, which passed the lower chamber in February, to Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., on Tuesday on the Senate floor. 

HOUSE DELIVERS MAYORKAS IMPEACHMENT ARTICLES TO SCHUMER, SETTING UP TRIAL PROCEEDINGS

The long-awaited delivery set into motion a procedure in the Senate, requiring that lawmakers be sworn in as jurors the following day to address the articles. 

However, Republicans have spent the last few weeks speculating that their Democratic counterparts will look to off-ramp the impeachment trial before arguments begin. This was confirmed by Schumer on the Senate floor on Wednesday morning when he confirmed his intention to seek dismissal.

Several Democratic senators have voiced support for dismissing the articles in the lead up to the trial's consideration, including Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin, D-Ill., in a recent speech on the chamber floor. 

Schumer had previously stated his plans to "expeditiously" deal with the impeachment trial proceedings, without indicating the specific route the caucus was planning to take. 

SENATE DEMS REVEAL MASSIVE $79M AD SPEND TO PROTECT MAJORITY AHEAD OF KEY MATCHUPS

Republicans have expressed outrage at the likely refusal of their colleagues to allow a full impeachment trial against Mayorkas to play out. They have even threatened to shut down the Senate by making constant objections to requests for unanimous consent on regular business if a trial isn't seen all the way through. 

At a press conference following the article delivery on Tuesday, Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, previewed that "we're going to see Chuck Schumer throw out 200 years of history [and] ignore the Constitution," referencing the fact that an impeachment trial has never been tabled by the Senate. 

GOP SENATOR EYES LEGISLATION TO DEFUND 'PROPAGANDIST' NPR AFTER SUSPENSION OF WHISTLEBLOWER

"He does not want these [House impeachment] managers to present the evidence of the people dying because of their policies," he added. 

Several vulnerable Democratic senators were expected to be the deciding factors on whether a trial was allowed to play out. But in recent days, multiple Democrats in highly competitive races in battleground states have revealed they want to see the trial dismissed. 

Casey expressed his opinion for the first time on Tuesday, telling CNN, "I think we should move on and get to work on a bipartisan border security deal."

There have also been multiple Republicans whose planned votes were considered a mystery. Sens. Mitt Romney, R-Utah, Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, and Susan Collins, R-Maine, are concerns on the right, despite the conference being largely united. This unity was evidenced by 43 Republicans signing onto a letter last week calling on Schumer to allow the trial to be seen all the way through. 

With a narrow split in the upper chamber, agreement among the parties can be easily disrupted by just a few senators. Democrats hold the majority with just 51-49 over Republicans.