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

[link removed]
[link removed]
Photo by Joel Martinez/Pool via 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.

THE MAYORKAS IMPEACHMENT HAS BEEN DELAYED
By Lisa Desjardins, @LisaDNews ([link removed])
Correspondent

The impeachment trial of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas was set to begin this week. The proceedings will bring unprecedented questions of process to the U.S. Senate.

But House Republicans announced late Tuesday that the articles won’t be sent to the Senate until next week ([link removed]) .

The delay complicates the GOP’s impeachment push, but we like to make the complicated digestible. For this impeachment (when it happens), here’s what you need to know.

First, the basics.
* Mayorkas faces two articles of impeachment ([link removed]) .
* Article I. Willful and systemic refusal to comply with the law. House Republicans accuse the Homeland Security chief ([link removed].) of refusing to detain undocumented immigrants and secure the border. Mayorkas and Democrats reject this claim ([link removed]) as overtly political.
* Article II. Breach of public trust. House Republicans argue that Mayorkas lied to Congress ([link removed].) when he testified that the U.S. has operational control of the border, citing interviews ([link removed]) Border Patrol officers who feel otherwise. Mayorkas and Democrats say he was speaking about general control ([link removed]) , not to a literal interpretation of the statutory definition that views any illegal entry as a security breach at the border.
* The Republican-controlled House passed these articles by the narrowest margin possible — a single vote ([link removed]) — in February.
* The impeachment vote was partisan ([link removed]) . Only Republicans voted yes. Every Democrat and three Republicans voted against impeachment.

What’s happening next week?
* The House was initially set to transmit the articles to the Senate this week. But that time table has now shifted.
* Why? House Speaker Mike Johnson, through a spokesperson, said the delay was to “ensure the Senate has adequate time to perform its constitutional duty.” Some Republicans wanted more time to build their case against Mayorkas.
* Next week, House managers plan to walk the articles over to the Senate. (There’s no certainty on which day yet.)
* Soon after, the Senate can begin, and end, his trial.
* Two likely scenarios: Our reporting is that Senate Democrats will either move to dismiss the charges or table the articles of impeachment. Either move would avoid a full trial.
* What about Mayorkas himself? The Homeland chief will testify before two subcommittees ([link removed]) Wednesday about the department’s budget proposal. As Mayorkas has signaled before, he’s “not distracted” ([link removed]) by the politics or proceedings.

[link removed]
Mayorkas will testify before a House subcommittee about Homeland Security’s budget proposal at 10 a.m. EDT Wednesday. Watch in the player above.
And now, the next level — some questions and answers.

Why is this “unprecedented”? Congress has never impeached a sitting Cabinet officer before.

But what about William Belknap in 1876? Good reference (and a recent trivia subject)!

It is true. The House of Representatives moved to impeach then-Secretary of War William Belknap ([link removed]) in 1876, charging him with corruption. But he resigned minutes before the House took the impeachment vote. He was firmly out of office when the Senate held its trial. (And acquitted him.) This makes Mayorkas the first Cabinet secretary to be in office for impeachment. And only the second-ever impeached. ([link removed])

Why is this an “unprecedented question of process”? Glad you caught that. Not only is this the first impeachment of a sitting Cabinet officer, Democrats may make it the first time that senators have dismissed an impeachment out of hand, with no substantial trial arguments.

Some Senate Republicans ([link removed]) and most all House Republicans ([link removed]) are incensed about this idea. They argue that a full trial is a “constitutional obligation.” ([link removed].)

*Can* the Senate dismiss the charges without a full trial? This is somewhat debated, as you see above. But the answer is yes, according to constitutional scholars in both parties and retired Senate staffers I spoke with.

Tell us more. Senate impeachment trials are governed by the U.S. Constitution ([link removed]) , foremost. But it offers little specifics on the process, other than, “The Senate shall have the sole Power to try all Impeachments. When sitting for that Purpose, they shall be on Oath or Affirmation.”

Other rules for impeachment trials are part of a nine-page section of the Senate manual, helpfully titled, “Rules of procedure and practice in the Senate when sitting on impeachment trials ([link removed]) .”

And those rules say nothing about whether the Senate can or cannot move to dismiss a trial.

This is why scholars believe these are powers the Senate retains under the rest of its standing rules and as part of common trial procedure.

So what will the Senate do?

First, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer has some decisions to make. He must first decide whether to move to dismiss or table the articles of impeachment.

A motion to dismiss has some disadvantages. For one, it includes time for debate, for up to two hours total. Another disadvantage? It may be a riskier vote for vulnerable Democrats than a motion to table impeachment.

A motion to table, on the other hand, could be seen as a sort of “nuclear option,” precisely because it would block the chance for any real debate or statement.

While the House impeachment vote was a bare majority, it was still the majority decision of the chamber. Many Republicans could find a motion to immediately table this impeachment as a declaration of “procedural war.”

Bottom line: We expect the Senate to begin and end the Mayorkas trial quickly. Such a decision will be met with vocal objections and protestation from conservative Republicans, who may use points of order to slow down the process.

In the end, the Democratic-controlled Senate can quickly dispose of this impeachment. Doing so would set a precedent, which may make their opponents in the Republican Party give more thought to the same idea, should a president in their party be impeached in the future.

WE WOULD LIKE TO HEAR FROM YOU!

Which and what kinds of political stories matter to you? And which ones have become oversaturated? What’s happening in your state, city, town or neighborhood that ought to get more attention? Email your responses to [email protected]. (mailto:[email protected])

Your suggestions can help guide our coverage this election year.

Your humbled Here’s the Deal editor also forgot the link to the large “Biden” head sculpture ([link removed]) mentioned in last week’s write-up. Thanks to the readers who flagged this.
More on immigration from our coverage:
* Watch: What asylum-seekers face at the U.S. border ([link removed]) after a grueling journey through Mexico.
* One Big Question: Why is the U.S. immigration system strained? Two experts weigh in on the humanitarian crisis at the border and how immigration fits into America's future ([link removed]) .
* A Closer Look: A controversial Texas immigration law was put on hold ([link removed]) in March. An appeals court will now decide its fate.
* Perspectives: “We have not given up on Congress” to act on immigration reform, Mayorkas told the PBS NewsHour ([link removed]) last month.

HOW AMERICANS FEEL ABOUT VIOLENCE AND POLITICS
By Laura Santhanam, @LauraSanthanam ([link removed])
Health Reporter & Coordinating Producer for Polling

One in 5 U.S. adults believe Americans may have to resort to violence to get their own country back on track, according to the latest PBS NewsHour/NPR/Marist poll ([link removed]) .

Most Americans, no matter their political affiliation, do not believe that violence is a solution to domestic political divisions, the poll found. But Republicans were more likely than Democrats or independents — and slightly more likely than the population overall — to say force may be needed to course-correct.
[link removed]
Chart by Jenna Cohen/PBS NewsHour
During recent reelection campaign rallies ([link removed]) , presumptive Republican nominee and former President Donald Trump has questioned the humanity of immigrants ([link removed]) , referred to a much debated “blood bath for the country” if he does not get reelected and describes people who have been convicted for Jan. 6 criminal offenses as “hostages.”

His speeches often attempt “to convince people the country is going downhill, that things are awful and only he can fix them,” said Barbara McQuade, a law professor at the University of Michigan.

These latest poll results suggest “to some extent, these strategies are working” and highlight that “we need strong voices pushing back,” said McQuade, who served as U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Michigan.

“It’s an incredibly dangerous place to be,” she said.


A HISTORIC PAY HIKE FOR TEACHERS IN ST. LOUIS
[link removed]
Photo by Gabrielle Hays/PBS NewsHour
By Gabrielle Hays, @thegabhour ([link removed])
Communities Correspondent, St. Louis

Teachers working at St. Louis Public Schools will receive a 17 percent bump in pay over the next three years — the largest raise they’ve seen in two decades. ([link removed])

The new raises are expected to bring the average starting teacher salary in the district up to around $50,000 a year, higher than the state average, which remains at $34,052. Missouri ranks 50th in the nation ([link removed]) for average beginning teacher pay, according to the National Education Association.

For all of the 15 years Josie Johnston has been a teacher, she’s also worked as a senior pharmacy technician. Along with teaching high school and coaching student speech and debate teams, she holds down a job at the pharmacy. This year, she had to take on an extra class.

At some point, there was a shift in this country in how teachers were treated, she said.

“Teachers stopped being respected, stopped being paid and not fairly compensated and given more and more and more and more to do,” she added.

Zooming out: A 2021 survey ([link removed]) showed how much low salaries contributed to nationwide shortages of teachers.

Eighty-two percent of classroom teachers said they either currently or previously worked multiple jobs to make ends meet. Of those, more than half of classroom teachers said they were currently working multiple jobs.

“What we’re seeing across the country is not necessarily a shortage of qualified, caring, creative, passionate educators, we’re seeing a shortage of professionally compensated and respected education jobs,” said Kim Anderson, NEA executive director.

U.S. lawmakers and state leaders often cite teacher pay as a critical issue. Eleven teacher pay bills were signed into law last year ([link removed]) , according to an estimate by the Georgetown University think tank Future Ed. This year, more than a dozen of the country’s governors mentioned salary increases during their annual addresses, as did President Joe Biden in his State of the Union address ([link removed]) last month.

But action often relies on state Legislatures. In Missouri, grants approved in the state budget have offered temporary state-matched funds for districts to raise salaries. Lawmakers have sought a more permanent solution. For the last two years, a bipartisan effort has pushed legislation that would raise the minimum teacher salary to $38,000. This year’s version is advancing through the House.

In the meantime, educators have said they are tired and wondering how long they will last.
[link removed]
#POLITICSTRIVIA
By Matt Loffman, @mattloff ([link removed])
Politics Producer

Alejandro Mayorkas is the first Latino, and first immigrant ([link removed]) , to be in charge of the Department of Homeland Security. Born in Cuba, he is the son of Jewish parents, with a mother who fled the Holocaust.

He is also the third Cuban-born person to serve in a U.S. presidential Cabinet.

Our question: Who was the first?

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: Which state did Jeannette Pickering Rankin, the first woman elected to Congress, represent?

The answer: Montana ([link removed]) . As several readers, including Montanans, pointed out: The Republican and women’s rights advocate was also the only member of Congress to vote against U.S. entry in both World Wars.

Congratulations to our winners: Carol Rutz and Brad Robideau!

Thank you all for reading and watching. We’ll drop into your inbox next week.
[link removed]
Want more news and analysis in your inbox?
Explore all of the PBS NewsHour's newsletters ([link removed]) .
[link removed]
[link removed]

============================================================
Copyright © 2024 WETA, All rights reserved.

Our mailing address is:
3620 South 27th Street
Arlington, VA 22206

** unsubscribe from this list ([link removed])
** update subscription preferences ([link removed])