Senator Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) responded forcefully to Donald Trump Jr.’s criticism of three Senate Democrats who voted to end the impeachment case against Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas.
On Friday morning, Murphy wrote, “Your Friday morning reminder that Republicans are full of shit when they complain about the border. They killed the tough, bipartisan border security bill because Trump told them to keep the border a mess because it would help him politically.”
Murphy was reacting to Trump Jr.’s criticism of Senators Bob Casey (D-Pa.), Jon Tester (D-Mont.), and Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio), who all face challenging reelection battles this year. Trump Jr. had accused them of “doing [President] Biden’s bidding” by voting to end the Senate trial of Mayorkas.
Trump Jr. (Credits: CNN)
In a Thursday post on the social media platform X, Trump Jr. wrote, “Next time Dems like Bob Casey, Jon Tester, and Sherrod Brown try to portray themselves as tough on the border, remember that they just did Biden’s bidding by voting to acquit Mayorkas without a trial. By taking that vote, they all just endorsed the invasion at our southern border!”
All three lawmakers voted with their party to dismiss two articles of impeachment, avoiding the possibility of a lengthy trial. Murphy was part of a bipartisan group of senators, including Kyrsten Sinema (I-Ariz.) and James Lankford (R-Okla.), who negotiated a border security bill that passed the Senate but was effectively killed by former President Trump when it reached the House.
Senate Republicans issued multiple motions to delay Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer’s (D-N.Y.) move to avoid an impeachment trial, but all attempts failed on party-line votes.
DHS Secretary Mayorkas (Credits:
NewsNation)
Republicans accused Democrats of ignoring the situation at the southern border, where Customs and Border Protection recorded 7.5 million illegal crossings since President Biden took office.
Democrats argued that Republicans were impeaching Mayorkas over policy disagreements and failed to show any high crimes or misdemeanors that would constitutionally justify the severe punishment.
Murphy’s response highlighted the hypocrisy of Republican complaints about border security, given their role in killing a bipartisan border security bill. He emphasized that Democrats were not ignoring the border situation but rather refusing to impeach Mayorkas over policy disagreements. The exchange reflects the intense political divisions over border security and immigration policy.
