Senate to get impeachment articles against Mayorkas on April 10

Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) and House Republicans have notified the Senate they plan to present impeachment articles against Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas on April 10, shortly after the House returns from recess.

Why it matters: Johnson is pushing for the Democrat-led Senate to hold a full trial despite expectations the upper chamber will quickly dismiss the impeachment case.

• Many Democrats see the impeachment push against Mayorkas over the border crisis as an election-year attempt to embarrass the Biden administration over a complex problem rooted in Congress' longtime failure to deal with border and immigration issues.

Zoom in: In a letter to Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), the House Republicans argue there is "clear evidence" that Mayorkas' handling of the border situation meets the threshold for "high crimes and misdemeanors."

• They say his "willful and systemic refusal to comply with the law" amounts to a "breach of the public trust."
• "To table articles of impeachment without ever hearing a single argument or reviewing a piece of evidence would be a violation of our constitutional order and an affront to the American people," the group wrote.
• Mayorkas became the first cabinet secretary to be impeached since 1876 in a party-line vote last month.

Between the lines: House conservatives have been ramping up pressure on GOP leadership to advocate for a full trial in the Senate.

• But Senate Democrats and even some Republicans in that chamber have pushed back, arguing that "snap impeachments" are bad for the institution and being misused.
• Senators in both parties have said they're skeptical of attempts to impeach a public official over policy disputes, rather than actual crimes.

The big picture: The impeachment case against Mayorkas is almost certainly dead on arrival in the Senate — but everyone expects the border to be a major issue in the 2024 election.