Texas Border Business
WASHINGTON, DC – U.S. Sens. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) and Mike Lee (R-Utah), members of the Senate Judiciary Committee, penned an op-ed arguing that efforts by Senate Democrats to end impeachment proceedings for Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas without a trial are unconstitutional and a violation of Senate rules.
The op-ed ran in the Wall Street Journal and can be read here.
In the piece, the Senators wrote:
“The Constitution, Senate rules and precedent are clear: The Senate has an obligation to vote on articles of impeachment. In the nation’s history, there have been 21 instances in which the House has sent articles of impeachment to the Senate. In three of those cases, the official who was impeached had left office, so the Senate didn’t proceed. In the other 18 cases—including Donald Trump’s second impeachment, which the House delivered after his term ended—the Senate conducted a trial and senators ultimately voted guilty or not guilty. That’s the process demanded by the Constitution and clearly laid out in the Senate rules.
“During its ordinary business, the Senate routinely takes up motions to table legislation and other matters. But when sitting as a court of impeachment, the chamber operates under special rules that resemble a court’s process to preserve justice, protect the accused person’s due-process rights, and ultimately render judgment on the charges. The impeachment rules have no provision for a motion to table.
“Republicans have respected this process. We were in the majority during President Trump’s first impeachment, in 2020. We fulfilled our constitutional duty and held a full trial on the floor. Now that the shoe is on the other foot, Senate Democrats are trying to destroy yet another precedent and further politicize the impeachment process. They want to avoid an uncomfortable election-year discussion about President Biden’s biggest failure: the U.S. southern border invasion. Democrats will shatter another norm and set a dangerous precedent that they’re going to regret.”
