Republicans postpone Mayorkas' impeachment trial until next week

The spokesperson for House Speaker Mike Johnson announced that the transmission of articles of impeachment against Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas to the Senate will be postponed until next week. This comes after initially announcing they would be sent on Wednesday.

"To ensure the Senate has adequate time to perform its constitutional duty, the House will transmit the articles of impeachment to the Senate next week," said Taylor Haulsee, a spokesman for Johnson.

Johnson opted for this delay following personal appeals from Senate Republicans, who urged him to hold off on sending the articles. Their aim is to allow more time for Senate debates on the matter at the beginning of the week rather than later in the week when lawmakers are preparing to return to their home states.

"It makes no sense to have them go through all that time and effort to highlight the abuse of this administration, only to have [the articles] come over here and get snuffed out," said Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wis., who is close to the speaker and one of the senators who personally urged him to hold off.

Senate Democrats, who hold the majority, were anticipated to swiftly vote this week to dismiss or table the two impeachment articles against Mayorkas, moving on to other legislative matters. However, Republicans have been advocating for a full Senate trial focused on Mayorkas' handling of border security.

The delay spanning several days grants the GOP additional time to debate the articles and criticize the opposition's dismissal of them.