GOP plans to grind Senate to a halt if Democrats table Mayorkas impeachment trial
Fox News
Republican senators are gearing up to prevent all legislative business in the Senate from going forward if they don’t get a full trial into the articles of impeachment against Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas.
Four sources told Fox News Digital that roughly a dozen GOP senators have been planning for more than a week to obstruct legislative proceedings and regular business in the Senate if, at a minimum, points of order are not agreed to in the impeachment trial of Mayorkas when the House impeachment managers deliver the articles to Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y.
“The Senate runs on unanimous consent,” a Senate Republican aide familiar with the talks told Fox News Digital. “Any one senator can do that.”
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The aide revealed that the conversation has been ongoing since last week.
A second Senate Republican aide also confirmed that several senators are voicing support for slowing or even stopping legislative business if impeachment is tabled.
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Schumer’s office did not immediately provide comment to Fox News Digital.
A top Senate Republican source shared that this type of holdup is always possible in the upper chamber, noting that one senator can choose to object at any time. However, they said a halt of this nature was going to be more likely if the articles were delivered this week.
House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., decided to wait until next week to deliver the articles to the Senate after facing pressure from GOP senators who did not want the impeachment trial to take place ahead of a weekend when most of the body would be preparing to fly back to their states.
But, the source noted, if Schumer and the Democrats seek to table the impeachment trial next week, there would be nothing stopping Republican senators from objecting to basic procedural measures.
The entire conference’s appetite for such acts of protest isn’t clear.
A source familiar with a Republican Senate lunch at the National Republican Senatorial Committee on Tuesday told Fox News Digital the discussion also took place there. It had the support of numerous senators, the source said, and no one dismissed the idea.
The Senate Republican aide gave examples of what such a Senate standstill would look like, pointing to motions to adjourn, recess and proceed to executive business, as well as objections to regular business such as wrapups, forcing the Senate to go through lengthy procedural actions such as reading from the journal and recapping the previous day’s business. The senators could also object to various requests to move forward on items with unanimous consent, including legislation, schedule items and adjourning.
The plan from conservative Republicans would be meant as a mechanism to bring Schumer and Democrats to the negotiating table on the Mayorkas impeachment trial.
The White House Counsel’s office did not immediately provide comment to Fox News Digital.
DHS referred Fox News Digital to a previous statement following the House’s passage of the impeachment articles.
“Without a shred of evidence or legitimate Constitutional grounds, and despite bipartisan opposition, House Republicans have falsely smeared a dedicated public servant who has spent more than 20 years enforcing our laws and serving our country. Secretary Mayorkas and the Department of Homeland Security will continue working every day to keep Americans safe,” DHS spokesperson Mia Ehrenberg said at the time.
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/gop-plans-senate-halt-democrats-table-mayorkas-impeachment-trial