Infuriated Dems help GOP quash another Trump impeachment vote
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President Trump speaks at a rally in Mount Pocono, Pa., on Dec. 9. Photo: Andrew Caballero-Reynolds/AFP via Getty Images
Nearly two dozen House Democrats voted with Republicans on Thursday to block one of their own members from forcing a vote to impeach President Trump.
Why it matters: The vote enraged Democrats, many of whom despise the increasingly caustic use of impeachment as a political tool but don't want to be seen as supporting Trump's actions and risk angering the party base.
- "I hate it," one senior House Democrat told Axios on the condition of anonymity to speak candidly about a sensitive vote.
- "This is not a team effort," another House Democrat told Axios. "It puts us in a difficult position."
State of play: The vote was forced by Rep. Al Green (D-Texas), who said in a House floor speech Thursday morning that Trump is "an abuser of presidential power."
- Green pointed to Trump saying last month that a video of House Democrats urging military service members to disobey unlawful orders was "SEDITIOUS BEHAVIOR, punishable by DEATH."
- House Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-La.) then introduced a motion to "table," or essentially kill, Green's impeachment motion.
By the numbers: The House voted 237 to 140 in favor of Scalise's motion, with 23 Democrats joining 214 Republicans in support of it.
- Another 47 Democrats voted "present" on Scalise's motion, with several switching from "yes" to "present" just before the vote was closed.
Yes, but: The vote represents a significant shift from June, when 128 Democrats voted to table another of Green's impeachment motions and just 79 sided with him.
- House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.), Whip Katherine Clark (D-Mass.) and Democratic caucus chair Pete Aguilar (D-Calif.) all shifted from voting to table in June to voting "present" on Thursday.
- So did Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee chair Suzan DelBene (D-Wash.), former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and former House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Md.).
Zoom out: More and more Democrats have turned to impeachment as their preferred tool for going after Trump and his Cabinet officials.
- Just in the last week and a half, Democrats introduced articles of impeachment against Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
- Another Democrat is pushing for the House Judiciary Committee to begin impeachment proceedings against Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem.
What they're saying: "I think Trump has committed a number of impeachable offenses, but the impeachment process needs to be preceded by investigation, deliberation, a lot more process," said Rep. James Walkinshaw (D-Va.), who voted "present" on the motion.
- Walkinshaw added that Republicans, who control both chambers of Congress, "have shown that they're not willing to hold Trump accountable, I don't think they're going to change their perspective."
- "We're going to have to beat him at the ballot box in November 2026," he said.
Editor's note: This article has been corrected to note Democrats said service members could disobey unlawful orders (not lawful orders).
