Cruz: Democrats tossed 'two centuries of precedent' by rejecting Mayorkas articles of impeachment
Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) ripped Democrats in the upper chamber for dismissing two articles of impeachment against Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas on Wednesday, claiming they tossed over two centuries of "precedent" in the Senate.
"Yesterday, Chuck Schumer threw over two centuries of precedent in the United States Senate out of the window," Cruz wrote in a post on X Thursday. "He stripped the Senate of the right to hold an impeachment trial. Democrats do not care about the Constitution or the rule of law."
The Democratic-majority Senate on Wednesday killed two articles of impeachment against Mayorkas, voting along mostly party lines 51 to 49 to do so just a few hours into proceedings. The vote marked the first time in 225 years the Senate voted to immediately dismiss the impeachment charges approved by the House instead of holding a floor trial or referring the matter to a special committee for review.
Cruz, speaking on NewsMax, pointed out that in the 22 times the House was brought impeachment articles against an individual, the Senate conducted a trial in each instance except for the cases where the individual died or left office.
"That had been the continuous precedent for 200 years until yesterday when every Democrat decided they were not going to do their Constitutional duty, they would not allow a trial to happen. They would not hear any evidence and instead, they simply ruled at the outset that we're not going to consider the matter," he said.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) argued a trial was not needed because the House sent over “the least legitimate, least substantive and most politicized impeachment trial ever in the history of the United States.”
Cruz attempted to block Schumer's move to dismiss the charges by offering a motion to send the Senate into a private session to debate the constitutionality of the impeachment, but Democrats voted it down.
Republicans had long sought an impeachment to shed light on the Biden administration's record on immigration and border security. The House articles accused Mayorkas of violating immigration laws as well as "breach of public trust," arguing he violated his oath of office.