By Richard Cowan, Makini Brice and Moira Warburton
WASHINGTON (Reuters) -The U.S. Senate on Wednesday dismissed the first of two impeachment charges against President Joe Biden’s top border official and majority Democrats then moved on to try to dismiss the second charge and bring the process to a quick end.
Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas was charged in February by the Republican-controlled House of Representatives with failing to enforce the nation’s immigration laws and lying to Congress — charges he denies. Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump has made immigration a centerpiece of his presidential campaign against Biden.
By a vote of 51-48, with Republican Senator Lisa Murkowski voting “present,” the Senate dismissed the House’s accusation that Mayorkas failed to enforce U.S. immigration laws.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer then moved to dismiss the second charge that Mayorkas lied to Congress.
Schumer’s maneuvers were aimed at avoiding a formal Senate trial, arguing that Republicans were abusing the Constitution’s impeachment mechanism to remove officials from office for high crimes, misdemeanors and treason.
Top Senate Republican Mitch McConnell earlier had called for a “thorough consideration” of the charges against Mayorkas. Disposing of the case without a trial, McConnell added in a Senate speech, “would mean running away both from our fundamental responsibility and from the glaring truth of the record-breaking crisis at our southern border.”
Earlier this year, a bipartisan immigration reform bill was floated in the Senate, only to be immediately shot down by Trump. That led to a collapse of support among Republicans for the legislation.
(Reporting by Richard Cowan, Moira Warburton and Makini Brice; Editing by Scott Malone, Stephen Coates and Jonathan Oatis)
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