On the surface, Rep. Al Green’s effort to impeach Donald Trump failed in the House today by a vote of 237-140-47. The motion to impeach Trump was tabled, but look under the hood, and you will progress toward impeaching Trump.
Those voting present were almost all Democrats in House leadership, and one of the Democrats who voted no had a very good reason.
House Judiciary Committee Ranking Member Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-MD) explained what the plan was for Green’s Trump impeachment articles:
Congressman Green has introduced an impeachment Resolution focusing on two of President Trump’s egregious recent assaults on the Constitution, a small part of the vast and growing inventory of such violations being committed by President Trump and members of his Cabinet, including Secretary Pete Hegseth, Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., and Secretary Kristi Noem.
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Impeachment is a critical and essential means of political and constitutional self-defense that the Framers gave to the people to be used when a lawless president or other high official commits dangerous high crimes and misdemeanors against the people.
We are in a period when multiple members of the Trump Administration are engaged in lawless actions that potentially constitute high crimes and misdemeanors. Members who are outraged by these offenses have begun to file impeachment resolutions on particular actions and events that trouble them the most. There is certainly no shortage of such offenses against the Constitution and the people taking place.
In the face of the Administration’s lawlessness, the proper thing to do at this point is not to vote to table this impeachment Resolution but to refer it to the Judiciary Committee.
Al Green’s effort to impeach Trump is being folded into the broader Democratic groundwork for future impeachments if Democrats win back the House.
Keep reading below for Raskin’s explanation