Democrats want to work quickly to shut down any possibility of the impeachment trial of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas. 

According to Fox News, Senate Republicans just managed to convince House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) to delay transmitting the articles of impeachment against Mayorkas to the upper chamber.

The move was of strategic importance, as 10 Republican senators urged Johnson to delay the transmission to prevent Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) from tabling the trial before the weekend and sending senators home.

Johnson had previously told Schumer that he would deliver the articles of impeachment on Wednesday.

Success

The Republican senators involved in pressuring Johnson to delay the transmission of the impeachment articles were ultimately successful. Johnson's office released a statement on the matter this week.

BREAKING: Speaker Mike Johnson has announced that he will delay the delivery of two impeachment articles against Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas because the Democrat-led Senate will quickly dismiss them. Instead of sending them tomorrow, he will send them on April… pic.twitter.com/4HdWi7akhr

— Simon Ateba (@simonateba) April 9, 2024

"To ensure the Senate has adequate time to perform its constitutional duty, the House will transmit the articles of impeachment to the Senate next week. There is no reason whatsoever for the Senate to abdicate its responsibility to hold an impeachment trial," Johnson's office told Fox News Digital.

Fox News added:

The GOP senators discussed their attempts to persuade Johnson during a lunch held at the National Republican Senatorial Committee's headquarters on Tuesday, the source said.

Two of the Republican senators involved in lobbying Johnson to hold off included Sens. Mike Lee (R-UT), and Ron Johnson (R-WI). Speaker Johnson will reportedly transmit the articles on April 15.

More time to debate

One of the primary advantages of the delay in transmitting the articles of impeachment until the start of next week is that it will allow more time for debate and lessen the pressure of a weekend when the issue would have otherwise been tabled.

Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) explained, saying, "Thursday afternoon, senators rush to the airport and fly to get out of here. Schumer wants it on a Thursday afternoon because he wants no coverage."

The Monday delivery will force the issue to stay at the top of the headlines, which is obviously bad for the Biden administration and Mayorkas.

House Republicans overwhelmingly agreed with the move to delay it until next week. Only time will tell if it makes a noticeable difference in the outcome.