Senate Majority Leader Charles E. Schumer, D-N.Y., sought to accommodate the wishes of Republican colleagues in agreeing to a period of debate before moving to dismiss the case against Mayorkas.

Engaging in a full trial “would be a grave mistake and could set a dangerous precedent for the future,” he said, urging colleagues to save impeachment “for those rare cases we truly need it.”

Schumer said the first impeachment article — for “willful and systemic refusal to comply with the law” — does not allege conduct that rises to the level of a high crime or misdemeanor and is therefore unconstitutional.

After breaking to discuss how best to proceed, Republicans began stalling by initiating a series of increasingly far-fetched motions, which failed:

—To adjourn the court of impeachment until April 30 at noon.

—To adjourn until May 1 at noon.

—To adjourn until Nov. 6 at noon — the day after the election.

Democrats pushed ahead and dismissed both impeachment articles on a vote of 51 to 49.

Along with their fellow Democrats, both senators from Mayorkas’ home state rejected his impeachment.

“Republicans would rather stand in the way of solving our challenges than do the hard work of leading our nation,” Sen. Laphonza Butler, D-Calif., said in a statement Tuesday. “We don’t resolve policy disagreements by impeachment. We talk with the American people, get in a room, and do the work. The charged crime here is a farcical substitute for doing the hard work.”

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