Dem drops effort to force impeachment vote — for now

The House will not vote this week on resolutions related to impeaching President Trump, lending a victory to Democratic leaders who have been cold to the idea. 

Rep. Shri Thanedar (D-Mich.) has introduced seven articles of impeachment, and this week he launched the process of forcing his resolution to the House floor for a vote. GOP leaders responded by scheduling a vote Wednesday evening to table, or kill, his resolution.

But on Wednesday, Thanedar said he would drop the effort — at least temporarily — because he believes Trump has committed more impeachable offenses in the weeks since the impeachment articles were introduced. 

“In the fifteen days since I filed seven articles of impeachment against President Trump, he has committed more impeachable offenses, most dangerously, accepting a $400 million private jet from Qatar, which even Republican Members of Congress have called wrong,” Thanedar wrote on the social platform X. 

“So, after talking with many colleagues, I have decided not to force a vote on impeachment today,” he continued. “Instead, I will add to my articles of impeachment and continue to rally the support of both Democrats and Republicans to defend the Constitution with me.”

The surprise move came after a host of influential Democrats used Wednesday’s first vote series to press Thanedar to abandon his effort to force the impeachment vote. The list included Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.), Debbie Dingell (D-Mich.), Greg Casar (D-Texas) and Jamie Raskin (D-Md.),  who led the Democrats’ second impeachment of Trump after the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol.

“My message for all of my colleagues has been, You might be absolutely convinced of your correctness, but the Constitution demands that you go and work with other people to promote the consensus,” Raskin said after talking with Thanedar. 

Thanedar initially seemed to brush off the concerns of his Democratic colleagues, telling reporters Wednesday afternoon that he had every intention of forcing the issue to the floor later in the day. The second-year lawmaker is facing a primary challenge from the left, and many Democrats have speculated that the push is largely designed to demonstrate to primary voters a fighting spirit in the face of Trump’s controversial actions. 

But to force the vote, he had to be on the floor during the 4 p.m. hour to call up his resolution, and he was not there. 

In announcing his reasoning a short time later, Thanedar left open the possibility of bringing his articles back up in the future.

“This is not about any one person or party; it is about defending America, our Constitution, and Rule of Law,” he wrote on X. “I will continue to pursue all avenues to put this President on notice and hold him accountable for his many impeachable crimes.”

Democrats are no fans of Trump, and many have accused the president of breaking laws, flouting the Constitution and ignoring court orders. But as a practical matter, they have virtually no chance of moving impeachment articles through a chamber controlled by Trump’s GOP allies. And politically, they want to avoid a vote that would divide their caucus and focus their message instead on Trump’s domestic plans — including cuts to federal benefit programs like Medicaid and food stamps — which are working its way through the House this month. 

"Right now, our focus is on health care being stripped away from the American people. That is the most urgent and dire thing that we could be talking about this week," Rep. Pete Aguilar (Calif.), the chairman of the House Democratic Caucus, said Wednesday morning. 

"Everything else is a distraction."

Updated at 5:55 p.m. EDT