A long-shot bid to impeach President Donald Trump by Democratic Representative Al Green of Texas was blocked by the House on Tuesday after 18 Democrats joined 213 Republicans to reject it. Another 46 Democrats—including Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, Whip Katherine Clark of Massachusetts and Caucus Chair Pete Aguilar of California—voted present. But a large majority of House Democrats had voted to advance the resolution.
House Democratic leaders did not whip the vote but refused to endorse it. In a joint statement issued on Monday, Jeffries, Clark and Aguilar had written that “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” which requires “a comprehensive investigative process.” None of “that serious work has been done,” the three Democratic leaders argued, announcing they would have voted “present” on the impeachment motion. Green filed articles of impeachment against Trump in late August accusing him of abusing his powers by launching an immigration crackdown that led to the “terrorizing” of communities across the country and turned American democracy “into an authoritarian regime, where unjustified killings and coverups [...] are normalized.” These are the 18 House Democrats who voted in favor of tabling the impeachment resolution: This is a developing story and will be updated.
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