Senate dismisses impeachment case against Mayorkas

The US Senate has voted to kill impeachment charges against Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Majorkas, sparing him a trial in the chamber.

It was the first time in almost 150 years, and only the second time in US history, the Senate had considered the impeachment of a cabinet secretary.

If two-thirds of the chamber had approved, Mr Mayorkas would have been removed from office.

He was accused of refusing to enforce immigration law.

Mr Mayorkas was also charged by the US House of Representatives with breaching "the public trust" by making false statements during congressional testimony.

In twin, near-party line votes on Wednesday, senators dismissed the two articles of impeachment filed by the House two months ago.

Senate majority leader Chuck Schumer had proposed a process by which Republicans would be allowed to make speeches and offer procedural motions before Democrats would forge ahead with in a vote to dismiss the charges.

When Republicans objected, demanding a full trial on the merits of the Mayorkas case, Mr Schumer, a New York Democrat, moved to force a vote that effectively dismissed the first impeachment charge.

"We gave your side an opportunity," Mr Schumer said. "Your side objected. We are moving forward."

The Republicans made several unsuccessful attempts to delay the vote, which were blocked by the 51 Democrats in the chamber.

In the end, all Democrats voted to dismiss the first impeachment charge.

All but one of the 49 Republicans objected, with Alaska Senator Lisa Murkowski abstaining.

The process repeated itself with the second impeachment charge, although Ms Murkowski joined her Republican colleagues.

The chamber then voted 51-49 to formally end the impeachment trial proceedings less than four hours after the 100 senators took the oath to serve as jurors.

Republicans had hoped to use the impeachment trial to call attention to what they have characterised as the failings of the Biden administration's immigration policy and the surge of undocumented migrants who have crossed the US-Mexico border in recent years.

They expressed outrage at Mr Schumer's quick move to end the Senate's part in the constitutional impeachment process in only a matter of hours.

They said it broke with tradition and set a bad precedent for future impeachment proceedings.

"If the Senate held a full impeachment trial, the Border crisis evidence would gut the Biden administration like a fish," Republican Senator John Kennedy posted on social media before the vote.

"Senator Schumer won't even let the House make its case, no matter how much it blows up the Senate."