It’s Tuesday, the traditional day for elections and for our pause-and-consider newsletter on politics and policy.

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Photo by Nathan Howard/Reuters

It’s Tuesday, the traditional day for elections and for our pause-and-consider newsletter on politics and policy. We think of it as a mini-magazine in your inbox.

IMPEACHING A CABINET SECRETARY
By Lisa Desjardins, @LisaDNews ([link removed])
Correspondent

The United States Congress has impeached a president exactly four times ([link removed]) .

It has impeached a Cabinet secretary only once. And in that 1876 case, the secretary of war ([link removed]) technically resigned before the impeachment vote.

What is happening now in the House of Representatives is unprecedented.

The House is moving toward impeaching a sitting Cabinet secretary ([link removed]) , with representatives now poised to vote on impeaching Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas as soon as next week.

We may write more about this in future days, but after sitting in the House mark-up ([link removed]) of articles of impeachment today, it feels useful to briefly lay out the basics here.

What are the accusations?
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House Republicans are scheduled to take a key vote Tuesday toward impeaching Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas. Watch the video in the player above.
House Republicans have written two articles of impeachment ([link removed]) , each with a separate charge.

Those are:
1. Willful and systemic refusal to comply with the law
2. Breach of public trust

Both are related to immigration. A reminder that the standards for impeachment are vague. The U.S. Constitution compels Congress to impeach for “treason, bribery or other high crimes or misdemeanors. ([link removed]) ” Essentially, it is however Congress wants to define those phrases.

Tell us more about the accusations, and how did Mayorkas respond?

You can read the full articles of impeachment here ([link removed]) .

The first charge, refusal to comply with the law, is a series of accusations that are centered around the increasing number of encounters at the U.S.-Mexico border, as well as increasing numbers of unaccompanied children, fentanyl trafficking and what Republicans say are large portions of unpatrolled border.

Mayorkas and Democrats have responded in several ways, including a letter to House Republicans today ([link removed]) . They argue that this is a political tool for Republicans who are pointing to a problem that has been growing for generations, with an immigration system that has repeatedly been left in status quo by Congresses and presidents of both parties.

Mayorkas argues that while Republicans might go about handling immigration and the border differently, that is a policy difference, not a crime nor failure to follow the law.

Mayorkas says under him, the department is expelling migrants and patrolling the border to the best of its capacity.

The second charge, breach of public trust, is related. On this, Republicans accuse Mayorkas of lying to Congress when he testified that the U.S. has “operational control” of the border.

This becomes a semantic and legal debate. Republicans are relying on, and read to Mayorkas, a definition in the 2006 Secure Fence Act ([link removed]) , which says operational control means preventing “all unlawful entries into the United States.”

Republicans say that clearly there is unlawful entry and to say it is under control is a lie.

Mayorkas has said to them directly that that standard is not one that any Homeland Security secretary has ever met, and that by “operational control” he meant, essentially, that the U.S. controls the border.

What happens now?

We expect the full House to vote on articles of impeachment as soon as next week.

This could be a close vote, with Republicans holding just a one-seat majority at the moment. But they believe they have the majority vote needed.

From there, the impeachment would go to the Senate, where Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer and his legal team are reviewing possible options.

This is a debated and not simple point. But at least one legal scholar ([link removed]) believes that Schumer does have options.
* He could hold a trial. (Which is what happened with the former secretary of war in 1876. He was acquitted.)
* He could consider making an argument that he can dismiss the articles outright.
* He could send them to a committee to consider before going to the full Senate.

In about a week’s time — and if the House approves the articles — Mayorkas could become the first Cabinet member to be impeached in nearly 150 years.
More on politics from our coverage:
* Watch: The U.S. Senate is nearing a vote on a bipartisan immigration and border deal, but its prospects in the House look dim ([link removed]) .
* One Big Question: Biden says he would shut down the U.S.-Mexico border “right now ([link removed]) ” if Congress sends him a border deal. Why is Biden using that language? NPR’s Tamara Keith and Amy Walter of the Cook Political Report with Amy Walter weigh in ([link removed]) .
* A Closer Look: Missouri Republicans want to change how initiatives get on the ballot. Critics call it a ‘power grab.’ ([link removed])
* Perspectives: Russia’s invasion of Ukraine will soon enter its third year. NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg discusses the future of western support ([link removed]) for the beleaguered country.

TRUMP’S 2024 TRIALS: WHERE THEY STAND

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Photo by Seth Wenig/AFP via Getty Images

By Joshua Barajas, @Josh_Barrage ([link removed])
Senior Editor, Digital

For Donald Trump, the typical politicking that goes along with a reelection bid will overlap with an ongoing – and packed – court calendar ([link removed]) .

Before Trump, no former U.S. president had ever been indicted. He’s charged with 91 felony counts across four criminal cases, as well as implicated in a pair of civil suits that could result in huge financial hits.

Trump has pleaded not guilty or denied wrongdoing in each of these cases ([link removed]) , and his legal team has sought to dismiss, discredit or delay upcoming trials, including the case about 2020 election interference, which it hoped to move to after Election Day.

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A New York jury on Friday ordered former President Donald Trump to pay $83.3 million to writer E. Jean Carroll for defaming her, after she accused him of sexual assault decades earlier. Watch the segment in the player above.

Those attempts by his lawyers include a bid to say Trump should be immune from prosecution because his actions or comments were part of his “official duties” when he was president.

The PBS NewsHour created this guide ([link removed]) to all the key hearings, trials and dates for each state and federal case that Trump will face this year.

What to watch next: The civil fraud trial against Trump concluded in mid-January ([link removed]) . New York State Attorney General Letitia James is asking that Trump be fined $370 million and barred from doing business in New York. Judge Arthur Engoron has said he’ll have a final ruling by Jan. 31, though he signaled that the timing could change.
More on the 2024 race from our coverage:
* Racist Tactics: How Trump’s rhetoric, from spouting baseless conspiracies to demonizing immigrants, has reshaped the Republican Party’s base ([link removed]) .
* A Ruling: Illinois’ election board declined to remove Trump ([link removed]) from the ballot, a decision that stands apart from other 14 Amendment challenges, like in Colorado and Maine, that seek to bar him from the presidency.
* A Widening Crisis: Biden vows to respond to drone attack that killed three American soldiers on a U.S. base in Jordan. What options is the administration weighing? ([link removed])

#POLITICSTRIVIA
By Matt Loffman, @mattloff ([link removed])
Politics Producer

The House Homeland Security Committee on Tuesday debated two articles of impeachment ([link removed]) against Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas that accuse him of ignoring the law and breaking the public trust by failing to manage the U.S.-Mexico border.

The full House could vote to impeach in the coming week.

If the House approves the charges, Mayorkas will be just the second Cabinet member to be impeached in U.S. history.

Our question: Who is the only other Cabinet member to be impeached, and when did the Senate trial take place?

Send your answers to [email protected] (mailto:[email protected]) or tweet using #PoliticsTrivia. The first correct answers will earn a shout-out next week.

Last week, we asked: In how many states do state senators have more constituents than their counterparts in the U.S. House of Representatives?

The answer: Two. Texas and California. Under the “Population per senator” column in Ballotpedia’s chart ([link removed]) , both states surpass 900,000 for how many citizens a state senator represents based on U.S. census data. For comparison, in the U.S. House, each member represents about 700,000 people.

Congratulations to our winner: Dave Pasley!

Thank you all for reading and watching. We’ll drop into your inbox next week.
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