“A charitable interpretation based on policy does not exist for what my Democratic colleagues are going to try to do. It is all based on raw, gut politics.”
WASHINGTON – Senate Democrats today blocked S. Res. 623, a resolution from Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.) that would establish efficient and fair trial procedures for the impeachment of Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas.
Senate Democrats have indicated they intend to break centuries of Senate precedent by dismissing or tabling the impeachment charges against Mayorkas rather than holding a trial. Such a dismissal has never happened before in the history of the U.S. Senate.
“Our government is one of laws, not people—laws, not people—and, as you also know, Madam President, the United States Senate is built on precedent and custom and history and the law—not political expedience.
“We in the Senate are supposed to listen to the American people—not ignore them. And one of the ways we do that, Madam President, is by playing by the rules that we’ve all agreed to. All of the rules. All of the time.
“Now, my Senate Democratic colleagues today—or at least very shortly—however, may be willing to jeopardize centuries of this stability—the stability that this body has brought and lives by—for a short-term political advantage.
“We all know what’s going on here. . . . For the very first time in our nation’s history, my Senate Democratic colleagues are seeking to table—maybe even dismiss—an impeachment by the United States House of Representatives of a sitting cabinet official without holding a full trial. If my Senate colleagues do that, they will be summoning spirits they won’t be able to control.”
. . .
“Senate Democrats, I’m afraid, are silencing the American people who want their country’s secure border back.
“The truth is that the Americans are tired of the drug trafficking. They’re tired of the human trafficking. They’re tired of the sexual abuse of women and children. They’re tired of the widespread illnesses. They’re tired of the death. They’re tired of the behavior of President Biden and Secretary Mayorkas, with respect to the border. They’re tired of the chaos. They believe it’s chaotic by design, and they believe it is undermining their national security—and they’re right.”
. . .
“If they choose to ignore this impeachment, they will have placed their seal of approval on the lawlessness at the border and the chaos it has brought to so many American communities. And they will have ignored 200 years of Senate precedent.
“A charitable interpretation based on policy does not exist for what my Democratic colleagues are going to try to do. It is all based on raw, gut politics. They know it, and I know it.”
Read Kennedy’s impeachment resolution here.
Watch Kennedy’s full speech here.