- The Democratic-controlled Senate narrowly dismissed impeachment charges against Pres. Joe Biden’s Homeland Security Chief, Alejandro Mayorkas on Wednesday. Reuters (LR: 3 CP: 5)
- Mayorkas faced two articles of impeachment. The first alleged he engaged in the “willful and systemic refusal to comply with the law” in regard to his authority to secure the US southern border and the second claimed he had breached public trust. FOX News (LR: 4 CP: 4)
- The first article was ruled unconstitutional in a 51-48 vote along party lines with Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) voting present, while the second failed 51-49. Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) proposed a point of order to dismiss the article after failed motions by Republicans. FOX News (LR: 4 CP: 4)
- Schumer opened the proceedings by offering Republicans some time for debate before a vote to dismiss the case, but Sen. Eric Schmitt (R-Mo.) rejected the proposal. This led Schumer to quickly kill the articles since they didn't accuse Mayorkas of high crimes or misdemeanors. CNN (LR: 2 CP: 5)
- House Republicans voted to impeach Mayorkas in February, making him the first cabinet secretary to face such charges in nearly 150 years. Schumer argued that Republicans’ efforts to remove Mayorkas were "bulldozing 200 years of precedent." Associated Press (LR: 3 CP: 5)
- Republicans argue that the Biden administration's failure to contain illegal migration falls on Mayorkas' shoulders and that the DHS Secretary has willfully neglected his duties. During Biden’s first 36 months, 6.3M illegal migrants were encountered at the border with 2.4M granted entry into the US. The Hill
Republican narrative:
- Under Joe Biden and Alejandro Mayorkas, the US has been faced with an unprecedented surge of illegal migration that has been intentionally enabled by the White House. America cannot continue to allow this untenable wave of migration for political reasons, and Republicans must do everything possible to shut down the border — that starts with removing Mayorkas.
THE GATEWAY PUNDIT
Democratic narrative:
- Like most Republican stunts, the impeachment of Alejandro Mayorkas quickly failed in the Senate as even GOP lawmakers couldn’t hide the unserious nature of the proceedings. It is important to remember how radical these charges are, as Republicans sought to impeach a cabinet secretary for the first time in 150 years without any accusations of a high crime or misdemeanor.
MSNBC (LR: 1 CP: 5)
Nerd narrative:
- There is a 50% chance that immigration enforcement, as a percentage of removals to encounters, will be at least 5.7% in 2024, according to the Metaculus prediction community.
METACULUS (LR: 3 CP: 3)