Another House Democrat plans to force Trump impeachment vote
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Rep. Al Green shouts at President Trump during his speech to a joint session of Congress on March 4. Photo: Win McNamee/Getty Images.
Rep. Al Green (D-Texas) said Friday he will force a vote on impeaching President Trump — just days after another Trump impeachment effort was scuttled.
Why it matters: Green, unlike Rep. Shri Thanedar (D-Mich.), has a history of following through on this sort of thing. He repeatedly forced unsanctioned impeachment votes against Trump during his first term.
- Still, senior Democratic lawmakers and leadership aides told Axios that Green should expect to come under the same kind of pressure that Thanedar faced to back off his efforts.
- "I think the same standard would be applied," said one House Democrat.
Driving the news: Green said in a letter sent to fellow House Democrats' offices that he "will call for a vote to impeach authoritarian President Donald John Trump at a time to be determined."
- The impeachment measure includes a single article charging Trump with "causing the devolution of democracy within the United States of America into authoritarianism with himself as an authoritarian President."
- Green told Axios on Wednesday that he would force such a vote despite what he anticipated would be anger from his Democratic colleagues. "I'm sure people will let me know how they feel," he said.
The other side: "Every action taken by President Trump and his administration is fully lawful and firmly rooted in the will of the American people," said White House spokesperson Liz Huston.
- "This desperate impeachment stunt is nothing more than a reckless political act that the American people see right through," she added.
Between the lines: Most House Democrats are reluctant to take an impeachment vote out of fear that any such effort will be widely viewed as premature and overtly political at this stage.
- Democratic leadership wants nothing to do with these efforts, in part because it forces vulnerable House Democrats to choose between appeasing their grassroots base and not alienating swing voters.
- With Republicans in control of both chambers, Democrats are also clear-eyed that impeaching Trump — let alone convicting him in the Senate — is virtually impossible at this stage.
- Thanedar was the subject of considerable anger from House Democrats for his unsanctioned efforts.
Yes, but: Green is known to go his own way, even heckling Trump during his speech to a joint session of Congress in March to the point where he was escorted out of the chamber.
- The disruption, which came despite pleas from Democratic leadership to maintain decorum, earned him a bipartisan censure from his colleagues.
- But Green has become something of a celebrity among the Democratic grassroots for that incident and for his vow to pursue impeaching Trump, which he first floated in February.
- Spokespeople for House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) and Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Editor's note: This story has been updated with additional statements.
