On Wednesday, Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) and the 11 House impeachment managers will deliver articles of impeachment against Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas to the Senate. With the chamber under Democratic control, however, it’s possible that the Senate trial might not even happen. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) has let it be known he considers the effort to be “a sham” and “a new low for House Republicans.” Meanwhile, it’s Schumer who is the one taking unprecedented action. In response, Sen. Roger Marshall (R-KS) was among those who took to the Senate floor to call out the majority leader, as he highlighted how what Schumer is doing has never been done, among other issues.
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Early on in his remarks, Marshall framed it as how “a vote to block the impeachment of Secretary Mayorkas is a vote to keep our borders open.” Bringing up victims of criminal illegal immigrants, Marshall continued by pointing out that such a vote is a vote to continue the deadly track of lawlessness. It’s a vote that tells Laken Riley’s family and all of those who have been victims of violent and gruesome crimes at the hands of illegal aliens as well as the over 250,000 thousand people who have died from fentanyl poisoning, that Senate Democrats do not care.”
Marshall was referring to the 22-year-old nursing student who was murdered, her accused killer, Jose Antonio Ibarra, being here illegally from Venezuela who had also been arrested before.
Indeed, it seems Democrats as a whole “do not care,” given that President Joe Biden only referenced Riley in his State of the Union speech last month because Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene’s (R-GA) interruption forced him to do so. Even then, he referred to her as “Lincoln Riley.” Further, Democrats and activists were outraged about how Biden acknowledged the suspect was “an illegal,” which forced him to later walk back his words and tell MSNBC he should have said “undocumented.”
Shortly before his floor speech, Marshall’s X account also shared similar remarks he made on FOX Business.
Make no mistake about it: a vote to BLOCK the impeachment of Secretary Mayorkas is a vote to keep our borders open. We must hold him accountable. pic.twitter.com/3tnX7LXZdV
— Dr. Roger Marshall (@RogerMarshallMD) April 8, 2024
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In addition to highlighting the issues of illegal immigration and illegal immigrant crime plaguing the country, Marshall also called out Senate Democrats for refusing to do their duty.
“Disgracefully, this week, we will witness a complete political charade that undermines this Chambers’ responsibility and the oath we swore to protect this great nation. Skirting justice, accountability, and the very fabric of our democracy, the Senate Democratic Leader is taking a historical measure to hide from the deadly border crisis his party has created and embraced,” Marshall said.
As the Republican senator predicted, Schumer is afraid of what the trial could reveal, on what is already a losing issue for Biden and the Democrats.
Schumer, Marshall offered, “is so afraid that if Americans witnessed an open trial of Secretary Mayorkas and his record was exposed, it would seal the deal on the Democrat party losing the White House and the majority in the Senate.” Although Democrats did grow their numbers in the Senate after the 2022 elections, when retiring Republican Sen. Pat Toomey (R-PA) was replaced by Democratic Sen. John Fetterman, they still have a narrow majority of 51-49. Further, 2024 looks to be a particularly favorable year for Senate Republicans with the seats they’re defending as well as looking to pick up, especially in comparison to 2022.
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“They are very clearly worried about the next election and not the national security threat our wide-open borders pose to the sovereignty of our nation,” Marshall added.
Not only does the Senate map look good for Republicans, but the immigration issue looks particularly bad for Biden. Several polls consistently show former and potentially future President Donald Trump with a wide lead on the immigration issue when it comes to who voters trust more to handle. This includes the Marquette poll we just covered earlier on Monday, where voters prefer Trump over Biden by 54-27 percent.
RealClearPolling also shows this to be Biden’s worst issue among the seven that they include. Just 31.8 percent approve of his handling of immigration, while 63.7 percent disapprove.
Marshall went after not just Schumer, but Senate Democrats as a whole. “In orchestrating this cover-up, they are willing to undermine our Constitution and disrespect the honor and integrity of the impeachment process that has been observed and held fast by this body for over 200 years,” he said about his colleagues on the other side of the aisle. Again highlighting the unprecedented nature, he reminded that “in our nation’s history, the Senate has never tabled an impeachment trial.”
If anyone needs to listen to Marshall’s comments, it might be Sen. Jon Tester, Montana’s vulnerable Democratic incumbent who is up for reelection in November. This is one of the “Toss-Up” races, and yet Tester still said he’s “undecided” on a motion to dismiss the articles of impeachment.
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From colleague Kelly Phares. Tester says he’s “undecided” on a motion to dismiss articles of impeachment for Mayorkas. Tester faces a tough re-election bid this fall in Montana
— Chad Pergram (@ChadPergram) April 8, 2024
The Republican also highlighted the reasons why it’s the right move to impeach Mayorkas. Marshall noted how the secretary “has failed in his duty to protect our borders and uphold our laws.” Speaking of the 11 million border counters, he offered “we have 11 million reasons to hold him accountable and impeach him.” Marshall also included the “nearly 2 million ‘gotaways’ that have shown up here on U.S. soil under Mayorkas’ watch,” adding “he’s not just derelict in his duties; he’s complicit in endangering the safety of every American.”
It’s worth highlighting Marshall’s position on the Senate Committee on Homeland Security, especially as members of the House Committee on Homeland Security played such a role in this impeachment. It was that Committee which handled the impeachment, rather than the House Judiciary Committee. Greene, who played a major role in impeaching Mayorkas, is a member of the Committee and is one of the impeachment managers. Committee Chairman Mark Green (R-TN) is another impeachment manager.
Marshall has also proposed several pieces of legislation to crack down on illegal immigration, such as a bill that provides justice for the family members of those victimized by illegal immigrant crime and another that puts a stop to taxpayer funded abortions for illegal immigrants.
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