The Senate voted along party lines Wednesday to drop two impeachment proceedings against Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, but Republicans believe it could hurt vulnerable Democrats in the campaign.
Republicans now consider the southern border crisis as one of their finest themes moving into November, especially in Senate battlegrounds Montana and Ohio, which Trump won in 2016 and 2020.
If Republicans can defeat Democratic incumbents in both states, they will likely regain the Senate majority.
They believe it will win in swing states like Arizona, Nevada, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin.
I think they’ll pay. The American people are tired of it,” Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-Ala.) remarked of the move to drop Mayorkas’ charges amid a massive migrant inflow.
Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) said the vote to drop charges “absolutely” will affect Senate battleground elections.
People care about this. Will anyone be held accountable for letting our borders be broken, fentanyl in, and people dying? He demanded. “I think this was an abuse of the process and the Senate will regret it, but Mr. Mayorkas should have been held accountable.
“I think this will haunt the Senate and the country,” he said. “I hope it has political effects.”
Democrats unanimously upheld two points of order ruling that the House impeachment managers had failed to establish Mayorkas committed high crimes and misdemeanors, dropping both impeachment allegations.
New York Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D) rejected the claims as “policy disagreements” on immigration and border security.
He remarked “Everyone knows these were policy disagreements, never rising to what the Founding Fathers intended with impeachment with high crimes and misdemeanors, it was clear as day.”
Since the House impeachment of President Biden has stalled, Wednesday’s vote may be the only impeachment debate senators have before Election Day.
Democrats called Mayorkas’ claims a “sham,” but Republicans will use them to attack Sens. Jon Tester (D-Mont.) and Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio) before November.
Mike Berg, communications director for the National Republican Senatorial Committee, said, “It’s absolutely going to haunt Tester and Brown and every other vulnerable Democrat who voted against even holding a trial and breaking this precedent.” The Senate had always held a trial or set up a special committee to review House articles of impeachment until Wednesday.
After the Senate adjourned as a court of impeachment, Tester told reporters he doesn’t worry about his campaign votes.
Work on the southern border is desired. We missed an opportunity to modify asylum laws on the southern border, he said of the bipartisan Senate border compromise.
Even while the National Border Patrol Council endorsed the arrangement and Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell (Ky.) called it a “huge success by any objective standard,” just four Republicans voted for it.
However, Republicans believe the Biden administration’s record border security will benefit their candidates in November.
“I think the border is a big issue. Early this year, McConnell told The Hill that President Biden handled this well from the start and that his race will be significant.
Democrats think Senate contests will be more affected by GOP opposition to the border accord, led by former President Trump, than Mayorkas’s impeachment.
Wednesday’s votes “won’t have an impact,” said Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee Chair Gary Peters (D-Mich.). “Just a political stunt. People consider it a political stunt. Most importantly, all of our incumbents supported a bipartisan border security plan that is the toughest in decades. That was rejected by Republicans.
He continued, “Our candidates are about solutions, about getting things done and Republicans are about political stunts. “I’m confident we’ll be fine.”
Since almost all Senate GOP candidates in top-tier elections opposed the Senate border compromise, he claimed it would be easy to “paint that contrast” in crucial Senate races
Senators rejected a House-passed impeachment measure without a trial or special committee for the first time on Wednesday.
McConnell characterized the Senate’s party-line adjournment as a court of impeachment a low point.
“We set a bad precedent. He suggested the Senate can ignore the House’s impeachment. “We have disregarded the House’s directive for a trial. Not a proud day in Senate history.”
Schumer contended that tying up the Senate floor for days or weeks to try impeachment proceedings Democrats claimed were in punishment for “policy differences” with the Biden administration over immigration and border security would have established a worse precedent.
“It could disrupt our checks and balances. If the House wants to shut down the Senate, they can send another impeachment resolution and start more bogus trials, he said.
Senate conservatives said they would delay regular business in retaliation for the firing, making it harder to enact a Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act reauthorization by Friday.
Conservatives postponed a Monday vote on Ramona Villagomez Manglona’s nominee to the Northern Mariana Islands District Court, giving Schumer a taste of their slow-down tactics.
“There will be more of that, a lot more,” threatened Senate Steering Committee Chair Mike Lee (R-Utah).
After the vote, he spent hours on the Senate floor venting his fury to avoid a trial.
Schumer replied that retaliatory Senate slowdowns would harm the nation.
“We have so many things we have to do for the future of this country that I don’t think that’s an appropriate reaction,” he said.