House Democratic leadership announced they will join Republicans in voting to table a privileged resolution to impeach President Donald Trump. Rep. Shri Thanedar, D-Mich., introduced the articles of impeachment, going rogue and bringing them forward against his party’s wishes.
Why do Democrats oppose impeachment right now?
“We shouldn’t be talking about this proposal that is not ripe and not timely,” House Democratic Caucus Chair Pete Aguilar, D-Calif., told Straight Arrow News. “Impeachment is a tool that can be used, but it takes weeks and months to do.”
Aguilar’s on-camera, on-the-record comment was quite measured compared to what Democrats are saying about Thanedar behind the scenes.
“This is the dumbest f—ing thing,” one House Democrat told Axios anonymously. “A waste of f—ing time.”
What are the impeachment articles?
Thanedar announced seven articles of impeachment against President Trump in late April. Thanedar accused him of obstructing justice, abuse of power, bribery and corruption. On Tuesday, May 13, Thanedar introduced the articles to the House floor as a “privileged resolution,” which, under House Rules, requires a vote within two days.
Thanedar admitted his Democratic colleagues don’t want him to do this, but he’s doing it anyway.
“I have a lot of pressure to not do this,” Thanedar said during a news conference. “I have a lot of pressure to go away — don’t show up for this vote. I have a lot of pressure from all sides. But we cannot back down.”
Voting to table the resolution is the official way of setting it aside and agreeing to take no further action. It’s unclear exactly how many Democrats will join Republicans. However, there will be more than enough to swiftly end Thanedar’s effort.
Thanedar is very aware of the fact that he’s not popular.
“Some Democrats have called me a lunatic. Just like the president has called me lunatic,” Thanedar said. “Nobody has said to me, ‘Mr. Thanedar, the seven articles of impeachment that you presented to the U.S. Congress, they’re piece of s–t.’”
Some Democrats accused Thanedar of using this impeachment effort to help his reelection campaign. He also already has two Democratic primary challengers. Progressive Squad member Rep. Rashida Tlaib, D-Mich., is backing one of those challengers. She says Thanedar has a poorly run constituent services operation.
