House Democrats tripped over their own feet Tuesday, squabbling about a doomed impeachment vote against President Donald Trump. Rep. Al Green (D-TX) sparked the chaos with his push to impeach Trump for ordering strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities without congressional approval. The move exposed the party’s fault lines, with progressives cheering and moderates fuming, as Axios reports.
Green’s five-page resolution accused Trump of trampling Congress’s war powers, but 128 Democrats, including heavyweights such as House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries and Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi, joined Republicans to squash it. Only 79 Democrats, mostly progressives from safe districts, backed the effort. The vote laid bare the party’s struggle to balance its activist base with a broader, less impeachment-hungry electorate.
The lawmaker, undeterred, crowed, “I don’t have one scintilla of regret” about forcing the vote. That’s cute, but his stunt was less about principle and more about grandstanding for the X crowd. His measure was so flimsy that even some Democrats called it weaker than a prior impeachment attempt by Rep. Shri Thanedar (D-MI) in May.
The strikes on Iran, which targeted nuclear facilities, had Democrats clutching their pearls over constitutional war powers. Green’s resolution claimed Trump’s actions violated the separation of powers by bypassing Congress’s authority to declare war. Yet, the “fiercely contested” debate over legal grounds left many Democrats skeptical of impeachment’s validity.
“Not even clear the courts would uphold” it, one Democrat anonymously told Axios. That’s a polite way of saying Green’s legal argument was thinner than a campaign promise. The courts aren’t a slot machine for progressive wish lists, and this vote was more theater than substance.
Only a few Democrats, like Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, openly argued the strikes justified impeachment. “This president should be impeached,” Thanedar echoed, doubling down on his own failed impeachment bid. These voices, loud on X, drowned out the party’s more pragmatic wing, which saw the vote as a distraction.
Jeffries and Pelosi weren’t having it, voting firmly against Green’s resolution. “A completely unserious and selfish move,” one Democrat anonymously scoffed to Axios. When your own party calls you out for chasing clout, maybe it’s time to rethink the strategy.
“It puts people in a difficult situation,” another Democrat griped. Green’s vote forced moderates to choose between appeasing grassroots activists and appealing to swing voters who’d rather see results than impeachment reruns. The progressive wing’s obsession with symbolic gestures risks alienating the very electorate they need.
“There are a lot of other things we should be focused on right now,” a fifth Democrat told Axios. No kidding -- perhaps tackling inflation or border security might resonate more than another impeachment flop. Democrats seem more interested in viral moments than governing.
Green, unfazed by the backlash, doubled down: “It does not in any way cause me any degree of consternation to be criticized.” Bold words for someone whose measure crashed and burned spectacularly. His defiance might thrill his base, but it’s a losing bet in a divided Congress.
“Do we really want to give this president the power to take over 300 million people to war without consulting with Congress?” Green asked. It’s a fair question, but his impeachment push was more about headlines than serious oversight. If Democrats want to check Trump’s power, they’d need a stronger case and better math.
“My constituents have been calling for articles of impeachment knowing we don’t have the votes to pass them,” Rep. Emily Randall (D-WA) admitted. That’s not leadership; it’s pandering. Catering to a vocal minority while ignoring political reality is how elections are lost.
“What a message to China and Russia -- after we take military action, we try to impeach the president,” Rep. Jared Moskowitz (D-FL) warned. He’s right: Green’s stunt sends a signal of weakness, not strength, to global adversaries. Democrats’ infighting only emboldens those watching from afar.
“This kind of motion is premature ... I just don’t think it’s ripe,” a seventh Democrat told Axios. Translation: Green’s timing was as off as a broken clock. With bigger fish to fry, Democrats can’t afford to waste time on doomed crusades.
The vote highlighted Democrats’ ongoing identity crisis -- caught between a progressive agenda and the need to govern responsibly. Green’s impeachment gambit, while a flop, exposed the party’s inability to unite on strategy or substance. If they keep chasing stunts over solutions, they’ll be handing Trump another win.
