The Democrat-controlled Senate voted on Wednesday to quash a pair of articles of impeachment against Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, ending a months-long effort by Republicans to hold the Cabinet official accountable for his handling of the border crisis before a full trial could be held.
House impeachment managers tasked with prosecuting the case did not even get a chance to speak when the proceedings wrapped up in one afternoon. Senators were sworn in as jurors, fought over how to conduct the trial for a couple of hours, and ultimately voted 51-48 to nix one article of impeachment and 51-49 to crush the second.
The impeachment charges accused Mayorkas “willfully and systemically” refusing to comply with federal immigration laws and alleged he “breached the public trust” with false statements and obstructing lawful oversight of the Department of Homeland…
