[Congressional Record Volume 170, Number 66 (Tuesday, April 16, 2024)]
[Senate]
[Page S2758]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                          Mayorkas Impeachment

  Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, this afternoon, the Senate will be 
called, for just the 19th time in our history, to rule on the 
impeachment of a senior official of our government. It is a 
responsibility to be taken seriously. As I said the last time the 
Senate convened as a Court of Impeachment, it is a power that Congress 
must not exercise frivolously.
  Today, the Senate will hear House managers charge Secretary Mayorkas 
with serious dereliction of duty--with a systematic refusal to enforce 
our Nation's immigration laws and with lying to Congress about the 
extent of the border crisis that unfolded on the Biden administration's 
watch.
  The facts of the crisis are well-known. Since January of 2021, CBP 
has recorded more than 7.5 illegal crossings at our southern border, 
while observers estimate over 1.5 million known ``got-aways.'' And last 
December saw the highest daily and monthly numbers ever recorded.
  In the 2 months since the House impeached Secretary Mayorkas, the 
border crisis has only continued, with excruciating consequences for 
innocent Americans.
  On February 22, an illegal alien was arrested in Virginia for 
sexually assaulting a minor. The very next day, another illegal alien 
from Venezuela was arrested for the murder of Laken Riley, a young 
college student in Georgia. And the same month, yet another was charged 
with first- and second-degree murder for the shooting of a 2-year-old 
in Maryland.
  For the Americans living right near the border, things are not 
improving. In February, one man working in Arizona recounted watching 
cartel guides lead over 170 people from around the world through one 
such opening in a matter of hours.
  The House managers will make the case for Secretary Mayorkas's role 
in neglecting and exacerbating that crisis. As befits such a solemn and 
rare responsibility as convening a Court of Impeachment, I intend to 
give these charges my full and undivided attention.
  Of course, that would require that Senators actually get the 
opportunity to hold a trial. This is exactly what history and precedent 
dictate. Never before has the Senate agreed to a motion to table 
Articles of Impeachment--not for an officer of either party, not once.
  Instead, every single time that we have been called upon to render 
judgment, we have done so. We have convened a trial in accordance with 
rule XI of the Impeachment Rules agreed to in 1935. We have appointed a 
trial committee to dig into the facts and make a recommendation.
  It would be beneath the Senate's dignity to shrug off our clear 
responsibility and fail to give the charges we will hear today the 
thorough consideration they deserve. I will strenuously oppose any 
effort to table the Articles of Impeachment and avoid looking the Biden 
administration's border crisis squarely in the face.