Democratic Representative Al Green announced Wednesday he would file articles of impeachment against Donald Trump, saying the president’s recent comments about Gaza “will live in infamy.
The Texas Democrat said on the House floor he would bring the articles against Trump, who was impeached twice in his first term, for “dastardly deeds proposed and dastardly deeds done.”The White House and Green’s spokesperson have been contacted via email for comment.Why It MattersDuring a Tuesday news conference with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Trump proposed that the U.S. “take over” Gaza and develop the war-torn territory into the “Riviera of the Middle East” after Palestinians are resettled elsewhere.
He provided no details about what authority the U.S. would use to take the land and develop it or to displace the 1.8 million Palestinians who remain there.Trump’s proposal prompted swift rebukes, with some accusing the president of calling for ethnic cleansing with the proposal to resettle Gaza’s entire population. His comments could threaten the next stage of talks to extend the tenuous ceasefire between Israel and Hamas after more than 15 months of war in Gaza.
What To KnowDuring an appearance Thursday on C-SPAN, Green said: “The president and the prime minister, what they said will live in infamy and I don’t know that they’ll recover from it.
Quite frankly, if I may say this, I think the president, that alone in my world would cause him to have to resign,” he said.Green, who launched several unsuccessful attempts to impeach Trump during his first term, noted that impeachment does not require “a crime that is statutory.”
The Constitution gives Congress the authority to impeach and remove the president or federal officers for “treason, bribery, or other high crimes and misdemeanors.””Many people assume that that means a statutory offense,” Green said. “It does not, and the word misdemeanor means misdeeds. Aside from some minor offense, misdeeds are those things that will shock your conscience, so a president can literally be impeached for shocking one’s conscience.”The Impeachment ProcessImpeachment is the most powerful check that Congress has on the executive branch. Trump was impeached by the House twice during his first term, but the Senate voted to acquit him on both occasions. There is no limit to how many times a president can be impeached.
Introduction of articles of impeachment: Any member of the House can introduce articles of impeachment against the president or a federal officer. Or the House can begin the impeachment process based on an investigation.House Judiciary Committee review: The committee typically conducts the investigation, holding hearings and deciding if the charges against the official warrant impeachment.House vote: The articles are presented to the full House of Representatives. If the House approves one or more articles of impeachment by a simple majority vote, the official is considered impeached.Senate trial: The process moves to the Senate, where a trial is held to determine if the official should be removed from office.Senate vote: At the conclusion of the trial, the Senate votes on whether to convict the impeached official. A two-thirds majority is required for conviction. If convicted, the president or official is removed from office. In some cases, the Senate may also vote to disqualify the person from holding a federal office in the future.What People Are SayingDonald Trump said on Tuesday: “The U.S. will take over the Gaza Strip, and we will do a job with it too.” He added, “I do see a long-term ownership position, and I see it bringing great stability to that part of the Middle East and maybe the entire Middle East.”Al Green said on the House floor on Wednesday: “The movement to impeach the president has begun.”White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters during a briefing on Wednesday: “This is an out-of-the-box idea. That’s who President Trump is, that’s why the American people elected him, and his goal is lasting peace in the Middle East for all people in the region.”
Democratic Representative Pete Aguilar told reporters Thursday when asked about Green’s effort to impeach Trump: “This isn’t a focus of the Democratic Caucus.”Democratic Representative Rashida Tlaib, a Palestinian American member of Congress, wrote on X (formerly Twitter): “Palestinians aren’t going anywhere. This president can only spew this fanatical bull**** because of bipartisan support in Congress for funding genocide and ethnic cleansing. It’s time for my two-state solution colleagues to speak up.”What’s NextRepublicans hold slim majorities in both the House and Senate, so it’s unlikely that efforts to impeach Trump will gain the support needed to proceed.
