Trump Impeachment Vote To Be Forced Wednesday – By Jessica Kwong (newsweek.com) / Dec 5 2017
A vote to impeach President Donald Trump will happen on the House of Representatives floor on Wednesday, a Democrat has vowed.
Rep. Al Green of Texas in a House speech Tuesday said he would bring articles of impeachment against Trump and force a vote the following day, after three prominent Democrats asked to meet with him to discuss the matter.
“I will tell them that impeachment is not about Democrats, that it’s not about Republicans. I will tell them that it is about democracy,” Green said of the Democrats he plans to meet with in his office. “It is about government of the people, by the people, for the people. I will tell them it is about the republic, it is about what (Benjamin) Franklin said, ‘We have a republic if we can keep it.’
“I refuse to sit on the sidelines while the world is considering one of the greatest issues of our time.”
The impeachment vote will likely only be procedural.
Green last week said that he would bring a vote this week but had not given a specific date.
The Texas Democrat previously called Trump “the chief inciter of racism, bigotry, hatred, xenophobia, sexism, ethnocentrism.”
Impeachment articles he introduced in October state that Trump “brought disrepute on the presidency” and “undermined the integrity of his office” but did not make criminal accusations.
It is highly unlikely that the majority of House representatives will vote to impeach Trump, as is needed to pass the matter to the Senate for a two-thirds vote that would remove the president.
That’s because Republicans control the House and Democrats are split, with many believing it is premature to discuss impeachment as special counsel Robert Mueller investigates possible collusion between the Trump campaign and Russia in the 2016 election.
Scrutiny on Trump has mounted since his former national security adviser Michael Flynn pleaded guilty Friday to lying to the FBI and agreed to cooperate with Mueller’s probe. Trump has repeatedly denied any collusion with Russia.
Green seemingly is aware that the odds are against his effort.
“I will tell them that if a man does not keep pace with his companion, perhaps he hears a different drummer,” Green said on Tuesday. “Let him step to the music he hears.”
Besides Green, five other House Democrats introduced impeachment articles last month. The sponsors are Reps. Steve Cohen of Tennessee, Adriano Espaillat of New York, Marcia Fudge of Ohio, Luis Gutierrez of Illinois and John Yarmuth of Kentucky.
PB/TK – Grab the popcorn and slap the tap, is this gonna be a show or just another let down
