Rep. Al Green’s (D-TX) effort to impeach President Trump failed on Thursday, with several Democrats voting alongside Republicans to table the articles. The final vote was 237 to 140, with 47 “present” votes.
House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries, Democratic Whip Katherine Clark, and Democratic Caucus Chair Pete Aguilar issued a joint statement explaining their “present” vote.
“Impeachment is a sacred constitutional vehicle designed to hold a corrupt executive accountable for abuse of power, breaking the law and violating the public trust. The effort traditionally requires a comprehensive investigative process, the collection and review of thousands of documents, an exacting scrutiny of the facts, the examination of dozens of key witnesses, Congressional hearings, sustained public organizing and the marshaling of the forces of democracy to build a broad national consensus,” the lawmakers wrote.
“None of that serious work has been done, with the Republican majority focused solely on rubber stamping Donald Trump’s extreme agenda,” the statement continued. “Accordingly, we will be voting ‘present’ on today’s motion to table the impeachment resolution as we continue our fight to make life more affordable for everyday Americans.”
Green’s articles of impeachment against President Trump claim that he is an “abuser of Presidential power who, if left in office, will continue to promote the incitement of violence, engender invidious hate, undermine our democracy, and dissolve our Republic.”
Announcing the impeachment effort last month, Green told reporters, “We cannot allow anything to get in the way of impeachment, conviction, and removal. That’s what this is about.”
Green first sought to impeach President Trump in 2017. He then sought to impeach him twice in 2019, followed by another attempt earlier this year.
