WASHINGTON, D.C.—Today, Senator Rick Scott sent a letter to Vice President Kamala Harris urging her to fulfill her constitutional duty to serve as the presiding officer of Secretary Mayorkas’s trial following the House of Representatives impeaching him last week. As the President of the Senate, Vice President Harris is the appropriate constitutional presiding officer to oversee the impeachment trial of Secretary Mayorkas, and her appointment as President Biden’s “border czar” only makes her role in the Mayorkas impeachment trial more critical.

Read the full letter HERE or below.

February 20, 2024

Dear Vice President Harris:

As you are aware, Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas has been impeached by the House of Representatives. The two articles of impeachment adopted by the House assert Secretary Mayorkas has engaged in a willful and systemic refusal to comply with the law by enabling record numbers of illegal immigrants to flood into our country across the southern border, and has breached the public trust through his repeated false statements to Congress and persistent refusal to comply with duly issued congressional subpoenas. This matter now comes before the Senate, which is constitutionally tasked with conducting a trial and rendering judgment on each of the articles of impeachment against Secretary Mayorkas.

As Vice President, the Constitution directs that you also serve as the presiding officer of the U.S. Senate. Although Majority Leader Chuck Schumer has publicly stated he intends for President Pro Tempore Patty Murray to preside over the upcoming impeachment trial of Secretary Mayorkas, I write to encourage and invite you to fulfill your constitutional duty to serve as the presiding officer of Secretary Mayorkas’ impeachment trial. 

When President Biden appointed you as the “border czar” in early 2021, he tasked you with “stemming the migration to our southern border.” In accepting that appointment, you acknowledged a need “to deal with the root causes” of the flows of illegal immigration across our southern border. As such, you should be keenly interested in learning whether a high-ranking member of your administration is one of those “root causes” through his willful and persistent refusal to enforce our country’s immigration laws, frustrating the very core function of your role as President Biden’s “border czar.”

Our states and cities face an ongoing and widespread crisis due to the flood of illegal immigrants streaming across our southern and northern borders and moving freely within the interior of the homeland. As the President of the Senate, you are the appropriate constitutional presiding officer to oversee the impeachment trial of

Secretary Mayorkas, and I encourage you to fulfill that role when the Senate reconvenes later this month.

Sincerely,

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