The Senate is considering historic articles of impeachment against Alejandro Mayorkas. What to know.

Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas at the Department of Homeland Security in Washington, D.C. on April 15, 2024.

WASHINGTON – As the Senate meets Wednesday to consider the House’s impeachment of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, Republicans and Democrats agree on one thing – it’s a historic moment.

Democrats have panned the Republican House’s effort as a remarkable misuse of impeachment powers that could undermine America’s system of checks and balances. They plan to quickly move to dismiss the charges without holding a trial.

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said on the Senate floor Wednesday that his chamber is meeting to consider an impeachment for the third time in four years – the first two being impeachments of former President Donald Trump.

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But “this time, Senators will preside as jurors in the least legitimate, least substantive, and most politicized impeachment trial in the history of the United States,” Schumer said.

“The charges brought against Secretary Mayorkas fail to meet the high standard of high crimes and misdemeanors. To validate this gross abuse by the House would be a grave mistake and could set a dangerous precedent for the future,” Schumer said. The constitution sets “high crimes and misdemeanors” as the general bar for impeaching an official.

Nevertheless, Senate Republicans argue that Democrats are making a major mistake by pushing to dismiss the trial before it even begins. Their GOP colleagues in the House have charged Mayorkas betraying the public trust and violating the Constitution by “willfully and systemically” refusing to enforce border security laws.

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., argued Wednesday that it is the Senate’s duty to at least consider the House’s charges.

“But instead, the more pressing question is whether our Democratic colleagues intend to let the Senate work its will at all. Tabling articles of impeachment would be unprecedented in the history of the Senate. It’s as simple as that,” he said. “Tabling” is a procedural move in Congress that effectively stalls a piece of legislation or other push.

“Tabling would mean declining to discharge our duties as jurors. It would mean running both from our fundamental responsibility and from the glaring truth of the record-breaking crisis at our southern border.”

Even if a trial was held in the Senate, it is extremely unlikely that Mayorkas would be convicted. It would require support from two-thirds of senators, and all Democrats and several Republicans have argued the charges are frivolous.

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But a group of ultraconservative senators plan to drag out the proceedings to make it as painful as possible for Democrats, who they say are flouting precedent. The House has passed articles of impeachment 21 times in American history, and the Senate has held a trial in all cases except one, in which the official resigned before the trial began.

The Republican-led House voted to impeach Mayorkas in February by a count of 214-213, making him the second cabinet secretary in American history to be impeached (the first was nearly 150 years ago.) No Democrats supported the effort, and a few Republicans also voted against it.

Immigration has become a major issue in the presidential election this fall and has been in the congressional crosshairs for months. In January, immigration was the top problem cited by American voters in a Gallup poll. A February survey from the Pew Research Center found 80% of Americans feel the government is doing a bad job handling the number of migrants at the border.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: The Senate is considering historic articles of impeachment against Alejandro Mayorkas. What to know.