3 House Democrats ask to be removed from Trump impeachment resolution
A trio of House Democrats asked to be removed as co-sponsors of a resolution to impeach President Trump, a sign that many in the party do not want to go down the path of trying to remove the president from office — at least at the current moment.
Reps. Kweisi Mfume (Md.), Robin Kelly (Ill.) and Jerry Nadler (N.Y.) had signed on as co-sponsors of Rep. Shri Thanedar’s (D-Mich.) impeachment resolution — which includes seven articles of impeachment — but Tuesday afternoon, they went to the House floor and asked for their names to be taken off the legislation. The House clerk granted their request.
Spokespeople for Kelly and Mfume said the lawmakers initially signed on to the effort because they assumed it had been reviewed by leadership. When they learned it was not, they asked for their names to be removed.
“Congressman Mfume removed himself as a cosponsor from H. Res. 353 because he was made aware it was not cleared by Democratic leadership and not fully vetted legally — and he preferred to err on the side of caution,” the spokesperson for Mfume said.
“The Congresswoman was under the impression that the resolution was drafted and reviewed by both the House Judiciary Committee and Leadership when she originally signed on during a vote series on the floor,” Kelly’s spokesperson echoed.
Nadler’s office did not respond to several requests for comment.
There is now just one co-sponsor of the impeachment resolution — Rep. Jan Schakowsky (D-Ill.) — who signed on to the measure Tuesday. Thanedar, however, is not deterred; in a statement to The Hill on Wednesday, he doubled down on his effort.
“I can not speak for the actions of other members. But I am doing this because Trump has blatantly violated the constitution,” Thanedar said.
The decision by Mfume, Kelly and Nadler to distance themselves from the impeachment effort came hours after Rep. Pete Aguilar (Calif.), the chair of the House Democratic Caucus, said trying to remove Trump from office “is not an exercise that we’re willing to undertake,” pointing to the GOP’s total control of Congress.
“Impeachment is, at times, a tool that can be used. This president is no stranger to that; he’s been impeached twice,” Aguilar told reporters in the Capitol. “But we don’t have any confidence that House and Senate Republicans would do their jobs. And so this is not an exercise that we’re willing to undertake.”
Aguilar did not, however, say Trump has not committed impeachable offenses. The House impeached Trump twice during his first term, but he was acquitted by the Senate in both instances.
Thanedar’s resolution, which he introduced Monday, Trump’s 99th day in office, charges the president with seven articles of impeachment — obstruction of justice; violation of due process and a breach of the duty to faithfully execute laws; usurpation of the appropriations power; abuse of trade powers and international aggression; violations of First Amendment rights; creation of unlawful office; and tyranny.
“He started on day one with his meme coin pump and dump scheme,” Thanedar said Wednesday. “Trump unconstitutionally dismissed charges against Eric Adams for political gain. He unlawfully created DOGE, cutting funding that was appropriated by Congress. He’s taken the power of the purse away from Congress with his tariffs, which has led to economic turmoil. He is attacking the freedom of the press because he doesn’t like what they say.”
“Finally, when he ignored the 9-0 Supreme Court ruling to facilitate the return of those deported without due process, he completely ignored our system of checks and balances,” he added. “That’s when I said enough was enough.”
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The Hill