Rep. Al Green to force impeachment vote against Trump
A Democratic lawmaker says he will force a vote on articles of impeachment against President Donald Trump by next week, a dramatic step that could force the Democrat-led House to consider the measure for the first time, even over the objection of Speaker Nancy Pelosi.
“The President of the United States is a racist, a bigot, a misogynist, as well as an invidious prevaricator. To say that Donald John Trump is unfit for the Office of the President of the United States is an understatement," said Rep. Al Green (D-Texas), who cited Trump's racist tweets over the weekend about Democratic congresswomen as the impetus for his third effort to push through an impeachment vote.
Green forced two votes on impeachment articles in 2017 and 2018, when Republicans ran the House, citing similar controversies, including Trump's comments about demonstrators in Charlottesville and his description of African nations as "shithole countries."
In both cases, about 60 of Green's colleagues joined him to support advancing the impeachment measure, but the moves were easily defeated, with most Democrats describing it as premature. Since then, formerspecial counsel Robert Mueller issued a report providing compelling evidence that Trump attempted to obstruct his investigation of Russian interference in the 2016 election, leading dozens more of Green's Democratic colleagues to embrace an impeachment inquiry.
Green has been foreshadowing a third attempt at impeachment for months, and timed his latest effort after the president's attack on four progressive Democratic freshmen, all women of color, who he said should "go back" to their countries — even though three of the four were born in the United States.
His effort comes just as the House prepares to hear from Mueller himself during two high-profile hearings scheduled for July 24 that many impeachment backers have suggested could reignite a stalled effort to seek Trump's ouster.
Green's newest attempt at impeachment will almost certainly face pushback from Pelosi, who has argued that the House must still investigate Trump further before taking that dramatic step. She's also acutely aware that an impeachment inquiry could provide political ammunition for Republicans in districts that Democrats wrested from the GOP last year.
Complicating Green's effort further is the fact that the measure appears unlikely to garner enough support to pass. No Republicans support impeachment, and a slew of House Democrats have weighed in against moving to impeachment yet. Top House Democrats worry that a failed impeachment effort would backfire and provide Trump ammunition to claim he was vindicated by the Democratic House.
