FIRST ON FOX: Dozens of Republican senators are calling on Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer. D-N.Y., to make sure a full impeachment trial is held for Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas.
In a letter exclusively obtained by Fox News Digital, 43 GOP senators led by Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., demanded “that the Senate uphold its constitutional responsibility to properly adjudicate the House of Representatives’ impeachment.”
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Schumer is facing pressure to make sure a full trial plays out. (Elizabeth Frantz/Pool via AP)
The correspondence comes as Republicans have accused their Democratic colleagues of planning to initiate a motion to table the impeachment trial when it reaches the Senate, effectively killing it.
Schumer’s office did not immediately provide comment to Fox News Digital.
HANDFUL OF VULNERABLE DEMS WILL DECIDE FATE OF MAYORKAS IMPEACHMENT TRIAL
The letter was led by Graham. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik)
The letter was also signed by nearly the entire Republican conference.
The signers included Minority Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, Minority Whip John Thune of South Dakota, Republican Conference Chairman John Barrasso of Wyoming, Sens. Marsha Blackburn of Tenn., Ted Budd of North Carolina, Shelley Moore Capito of West Virginia, John Cornyn of Texas, Tom Cotton of Arkansas, Mike Crapo of Idaho, Steve Daines of Montana, Deb Fischer of Nebraska, John Hoeven of North Dakota, Cindy Hyde-Smith of Mississippi, Mike Lee of Utah, Jerry Moran of Kansas, Pete Ricketts of Nebraska, Mike Rounds of South Dakota, Marco Rubio of Florida, Eric Schmitt of Missouri, Dan Sullivan or Alaska, Thom Tillis of North Carolina, Roger Wicker of Mississippi, Josh Hawley of Missouri, John Boozman of Arkansas, John Kennedy of Louisiana, Ted Cruz of Texas, Bill Hagerty of Tennessee, James Risch of Idaho, Cynthia Lummis of Wyoming, Tim Scott of South Carolina, Chuck Grassley of Iowa, Ron Johnson of Wisconsin, Rick Scott of Florida, Markwayne Mullin and James Lankford of Oklahoma, Todd Young of Indiana, Katie Britt of Alabama, Joni Ernst of Iowa, J.D. Vance of Ohio, Roger Marshall of Kansas, Kevin Cramer of North Dakota, and Mike Braun of Indiana.
GOP PLANS TO GRIND SENATE TO A HALT IF DEMOCRATS TABLE MAYORKAS IMPEACHMENT TRIAL
Murkowski has questioned the impeachment. (Jemal Countess/Getty Images for JDRF)
Notable non-signers are Sens. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, Susan Collins, R-Maine, and Mitt Romney, R-Utah, who have each criticized the House’s effort to impeach Mayorkas. Romney reiterated this week that he didn’t see any high crimes or misdemeanors that would warrant the impeachment trial.
GOP SENATORS CONVINCE SPEAKER JOHNSON TO DELAY MAYORKAS IMPEACHMENT ARTICLE DELIVERY
House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., agreed to deliver the articles of impeachment against Mayorkas to Schumer next week, rather than Wednesday as initially planned. He was convinced to delay the delivery by several GOP senators, who did not want a trial initiated at the end of the week, when senators would be looking to quickly get on flights back to their respective states.
Johnson will send the articles to Schumer next week. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)
When the articles are brought to the Senate, they will set a certain procedure into motion and all senators will be sworn in by jurors. The concern among Republicans is that Schumer and Senate Democrats will seek to use a procedural maneuver to quickly off-ramp the trial. A motion to table, which could pass with a simple majority of 51-49, would kill hopes of a full trial.
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A group of Senate Republicans are planning to potentially hold up all legislative business in the upper chamber if Schumer doesn’t allow a full trial to play out. Because the Senate relies on unanimous consent among members for much of the business conducted, such a protest would make it virtually impossible for anything to get through the body.
While Republicans have made clear they expect Democrats to seek a quick dismissal of the impeachment trial proceedings, Schumer has not indicated the caucus’s plans.