Mayorkas Impeachment Sows Division Among Senate Republicans Over the Path to Take

A group of conservative Senate Republicans is pushing Minority Leader Mitch McConnell to help them force a full trial for Homeland Security Secretary, Alejandro Mayorkas, following his impeachment in the House over alleged mismanagement of the border situation.

According to a report by Axios, the group wants to ensure that the Chamber conducts the process and not just dismiss the articles, as Democrats have signaled.

Although the chances of finding Mayorkas Guilty and removing him from his post are slim to none, considering they need two thirds of the Senate and they don't even have a simple majority nor the support of all Republicans, the group insists on "fully engaging its Constitutional duty," according to a letter obtained by the outlet.

The letter, which has been signed by 13 Senators and is led by Mike Lee and Ted Cruz, tells McConnell that the Democratic effort to dismiss the charges would be "an action rarely contemplated and never taken by the U.S. Senate." If Republicans were the ones attempting to do so, they said, "the opposition would be fierce and the volume from Democrats would be deafening."

McConnell, on his end, said that he hasn´t "really thought about it" when asked about his stance on the best way to proceed with the charges. "I don't think we'll have two endless trials like we've had recently," he added.

He's not the only Republican showing reticence to the process. Senator Kevin Cramer said the articles were "dead on arrival" and the "dumbest exercise and use of time."

Democrats, on their end, have criticized the process since the beginning and have used it as an opportunity to go on offense against Republicans on border issues.

Following a statement from Ted Cruz regarding his stance on the issue, Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said it was him who "wants to do nothing on the border." He was making reference to Republicans voting against the bipartisan border security deal, which would have destined more than $15 billion to border security measures.

The claim seems to be part of a broader strategy by Democrats, especially following Tom Suozzi's special election victory in New York to take over George Santos' seat in the House of Representatives.

The strategy, which includes tougher rhetoric, comes as data shows that most Americans believe the Biden administration is not doing a good job addressing the issue. According to a new poll by the Pew Research Center, 78% of respondents said that the large amount of migrants seeking to enter the country is either a crisis (45%) or a major problem (32%).

Most Republicans were inclined to give the strongest answer, with 71% saying the Biden administration's job is "very bad." Democrats took the less critical stance, with 23% saying it's doing a "very bad" job and 49% saying it's "somewhat bad."