Background

On 2/13, on its second try, the House Republicans impeached Homeland Security Secretary Mayorkas 214-213 for what they describe as high crimes and misdemeanors, but which look like policy differences with the Biden Administration. In fact, the 3 Republicans who voted no in the House did so explicitly because they felt that policy differences were not sufficient to warrant impeachment.

Essentially, House Republicans believe that Sec. Mayorkas has acted in excess of legal discretion for setting immigration priorities. It's certainly true that the Biden Administration has different priorities from the Trump Administration. One point of contention is "humanitarian parole." House Republicans say the Biden Administration is doing it wrong. The Congressional Research Service (CRS) says that the existing law leaves a lot of room for differing interpretations. Other points of contention include the practical effects of the backlog of removal proceedings and whether or not the Biden Administration can act more aggressively via executive authority or whether the administration needs Congress to allocate more resources for detention, deportation and working through the removal backlog. All of this is further complicated by the range of agencies involved at various points in the immigration and deportation process.

Most of these CRS links include references to just some of the extensive past and current litigation over federal immigration policy. A question worth asking as you hear arguments for and against the conviction of Sec. Mayorkas is why the House has pursued impeachment when lawsuits are clearly a tried and true option.

What's Next?

In the short term, Sec. Mayorkas's trial in the Senate will begin next week. The House will transmit its articles of impeachment on 4/10 and the Senate will begin its work on 4/11.

Who are the impeachment managers, e.g. the House members who will prosecute the trial?

• Lead: Rep. Clay Higgins (R-LA3), profiled yesterday in the New York Times for his extreme conspiracy theorizing.
• Rep. Andy Biggs (R-AZ5)
• Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA14)
• Rep. Michael Guest (R-MS3)
• Rep. Mark Green (R-TN7)
• Rep. Mike McCaul (R-TX10)
• Rep.Andrew Garbarino (R-NY2)
• Rep. August Pfluger (R-TX11)
• Rep. Ben Cline (R-VA6)
• Rep. Harriet Hageman (R-WY)
• Rep. Laurel Lee (R-FL15)

Odds of Conviction

Extremely low. Conviction in the Senate requires a 2/3 majority and with the Senate split nearly evenly, there's almost no chance enough Democrats would agree to convict over an impeachment that is itself controversial. It's more likely that the Senate either dismisses the impeachment outright or sends it to committee from which it will not emerge. The committee approach is one that the Senate has used before for judges who had been impeached so that might be more likely.

The Last Cabinet Official Impeached

Secretary of War, William Belknap was impeached in 1876 for a kickback scheme he'd set up in 1870. As soon as the scandal broke in 1876, Belknap resigned. The House impeached him anyway even though he was now a private citizen. Even though he did the things he was charged with, the Senate acquitted him because he was a private citizen when the trial started.