Impeachment articles against Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas were dismissed by the Senate on Wednesday, but not before one of the chamber's Republican members engaged in some confusing back-and-forth about his opinion on the matter.

As Mediaite noted, Utah Sen. Mitt Romney, known for his willingness to buck the GOP on key questions, initially suggested that he would be willing to side with the Democrats on dismissing charges against the embattled Cabinet official, though he ultimately voted with his party in the end.

Romney's mixed message

It was on Tuesday that Axios reported Romney's apparent openness to dismissing the two articles of impeachment against Mayorkas for what Republicans say are his repeated and willful violations of federal immigration law, which they contend have led to an unprecedented crisis.

Though the Utah senator stated his belief that actual debate on the topic should take place in the upper chamber in advance of any potential dismissal, he suggested he was not necessarily opposed to letting Mayorkas off the hook without a trial.

“I don't believe there's a constitutional standard met. But at the same time, I think the Senate should give a chance for debate, even if it's limited to two hours,” Romney declared.

Setting out his parameters for an acceptable process, the senator added, “So if there's a motion just to table without any discussion, that's something I would oppose. If there's a provision that allows debate, it's something I'd be open to.”

Articles dismissed

Once the impeachment proceedings commenced on Wednesday, it soon became clear that Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) had already decided that no substantive debate or trial would take place.

Before arguments had a chance to begin, the Democrat-led Senate dismissed the charges against Mayorkas and ended the process in its entirety, as the Associated Press reports.

In the end, the votes on each of the two articles of impeachment were 51-48 and 51-49, respectively, strictly along party lines.

Despite his repeated hints that he was contemplating joining Democrats when it came to a potential trial, in the end, Romney voted with Republicans due to the absence of “some level of debate” on the charges.

Reactions pour in

Schumer, for his part, heralded the upper chamber's decision to end the proceeding almost immediately after it began, having previously said that the charges leveled by House Republicans did not meet “the standard of high crimes and misdemeanors” and would pave the way for a risky precedent.

Republicans, not surprisingly, blasted the outcome, as the Washington Examiner noted, with many predicting serious election fallout for the Democrats as a result.

“Americans are outraged that Democrats are welcoming this invasion. Every Democrat will pay a heavy price in November for willfully refusing to end this border crisis,” stated Sen. John Barrasso (R-WY).

Tate Mitchell, spokesman for the National Republican Senatorial Committee opined, “Senate Democrats just showed voters they will do nothing to hold Joe Biden and DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas accountable for the disastrous border policies that caused this crisis,” but whether that will translate to real action at the polls in November, only time will tell.