On Wednesday, the House of Representatives agreed to kill a resolution presented by Rep. Al Green, D-Texas, to impeach President Trump. Although this was his first attempt since the Democrats regained control of the House, he has also tried two other times previously.
“The president has committed an impeachable offense,” Green said, as reported by Fox News. “Yesterday, we condemned him for that. Today is our opportunity to punish him.”
But the House disagreed with a sweeping 332-95 vote. Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif, was a strong critic of the impeachment resolution, nervous of what the attempt could do to vulnerable lawmakers before the 2020 election.
The resolution came amid the controversy over Trump’s tweets against four congresswomen of color, Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Ilhan Omar, Rashida Tlaib and Ayanna Pressley. He told them to “go back and help fix the totally broken and crime-infested places from which they came. Then come back and show us how it is done.” Three of the four women are American citizens.
Democrats were split on the issue. While 137 Democrats voted to table the measure, 95 wanted to move forward.
Trump tweeted his frustration. “The United States House of Representatives has just overwhelmingly voted to kill the Resolution on Impeachment, 332-95-1. This is perhaps the most ridiculous and time-consuming project I have ever had to work on,” he said.
The president continued by touting his accomplishments. “Greatest Economic BOOM in the history of our Country, the best job numbers, biggest tax reduction, rebuilt military and much more, is now OVER. This should never be allowed to happen to another President of the United States again!”
At a rally a few hours after the vote, the president continued his attacks on the opposing party, claiming the Democrats were “hate-filled extremists who are constantly trying to tear our country down” and would eventually destroy the country, according to the New York Times.
But Green was not deterred by the failed resolution. “The president, at some point, will be impeached… people are starting to pay attention,” he said.
Pelosi believes there could be another path of impeachment for the president, potentially with Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s testimony to two House committees next week. Democrats want to pounce on an opportunity that would bring wider public support for impeachment. Recent polling indicated the public opposed impeachment over Trump’s tweets.
“…We have six committees that are working on following the facts in terms of any abuse of power, obstruction of justice and the rest that the president may have engaged in,” Pelosi said. “That is the serious path that we’re on.”
“Opening an impeachment inquiry is exactly what we must do when the President obstructs justice, advises witnesses to ignore legal subpoenas, & more,” Ocasio-Cortez tweeted last month.
Photo courtesy: Getty Images/Win McNamee/Staff
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