23 Democrats just jumped ship to hand President Trump a huge victory
The Left is in the midst of a civil war. And it isn’t pretty.
Now 23 Democrats just jumped ship to hand President Trump a huge victory.
Lone Democrat’s Impeachment Bid Crushed by Bipartisan Vote
A solitary progressive’s attempt to impeach President Donald Trump collapsed on Thursday, as almost two dozen Democrats teamed up with House Republicans to decisively shut it down.
Rep. Al Green, D-Texas, forced the issue Wednesday evening by introducing a privileged resolution demanding a vote on two articles of impeachment within two legislative days. Republicans countered Thursday by moving to table the measure—a procedural k*ll switch for privileged resolutions.
The motion to table passed easily, with 23 Democrats crossing the aisle to join Republicans. Dozens more Democrats, including the party’s top leadership, opted to vote “present” rather than take a side.
Leadership Explains Neutral Stance Amid GOP Control
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., Minority Whip Katherine Clark, D-Mass., and Democratic Caucus Chairman Pete Aguilar, D-Calif., released a joint statement justifying their “present” votes:
“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.”
“None of that serious work has been done, with the Republican majority focused solely on rubber stamping Donald Trump’s extreme agenda. 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.”
The final tally: 237 to table, 140 against tabling, and 47 “present.”
Democrats who voted to table included Reps. Tom Suozzi (N.Y.), Josh Riley (N.Y.), Jared Golden (Maine), Jimmy Panetta (Calif.), Chrissy Houlahan (Pa.), Maggie Goodlander (N.H.), Sharice Davids (Kan.), Don Davis (N.C.), Shomari Figures (Ala.), and others.
Charges Centered on Heated Rhetoric, Not Likely to Advance
This marks yet another impeachment push by Green, who has introduced articles multiple times in the past year and was famously ejected from Trump’s March joint address to Congress for disrupting the speech.
The two new articles focus on alleged abuse of power. The first accuses Trump of calling for the “execution” of six Democratic lawmakers after they released a video advising service members to disobey unlawful orders—an incident that sparked outrage on the right and prompted an FBI inquiry.
The second charges that Trump “fostered a political climate in which lawmakers and judges face threats of political violence and physical assault” and made “threats and vituperative comments against federal judges,” endangering judicial independence.
Despite widespread Democratic criticism of the president, appetite for a symbolic impeachment fight remains low. Even Minority Leader Jeffries has repeatedly dodged questions about supporting impeachment, emphasizing instead the need for serious investigations that Republicans would never permit.
With Republicans controlling both the House and Senate, any impeachment effort would die quickly—even if it somehow reached the floor.
