US lawmaker Al Green on Tuesday filed articles of impeachment against President Trump under a process that will force a House floor vote by the end of this week.
Green introduced his articles of impeachment after the House passed a resolution largely along party lines condemning Trump for suggesting that four progressive freshman congresswomen of color Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (N.Y.), Ayanna Pressley (Mass.), Ilhan Omar (Minn.) and Rashida Tlaib (Mich.) “go back” to their countries.
Green said that the House should go beyond condemning Trump and move to remove him from office. It will be the third impeachment floor vote forced by Green in the last two years, but the first since Democrats took control of the House. Green previously forced procedural votes on articles of impeachment against Trump in December 2017 and January 2018. Both efforts drew the support of about 60 House Democrats.
A total of 84 House Democrats currently support launching an impeachment inquiry, as well as independent Rep. Justin Amash (Mich.), according to The Hill’s whip list. But Democratic leaders and the majority of the caucus are not yet on board as they seek to continue ongoing investigations of the Trump administration. A floor vote will force all House Democrats to go on the record about an issue where they have yet to reach consensus.
Green read aloud his articles of impeachment on the House floor, saying that Trump is “unfit to defend the ideals that have made America great” and “unfit to ensure domestic tranquillity” and “promote the general welfare.” As with his previous articles of impeachment, Green accused Trump of having “sown seeds of discord among the people of the United States” by inflaming racial tensions and “brought to the high office of president of the United States in contempt, ridicule, disgrace, and disrepute.”
Green, a member of the Congressional Black Caucus, forced the vote in January 2018 after The Washington Post reported Trump described African nations as “shithole countries.” Some Democrats in favour of impeachment said on Tuesday that Green’s timing isn’t ideal given that special counsel Robert Mueller will be testifying before Congress next week about his report on whether Trump obstructed justice in the Russian election interference investigation.
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