Texas Congressman introduces articles of impeachment against Trump

Democratic Congressman Al Green of Texas introduced articles of impeachment against President Donald Trump late Tuesday, potentially forcing a vote this week on whether to remove the president from office.

The vote would come too soon for most Democrats, as a majority of the caucus appears to oppose impeachment, for now. But Green is seeking to capitalize on a growing sentiment for impeachment in the wake of Trump’s racist tweets over the weekend.

Green introduced the measure shortly after the U.S. House voted to condemn Trump for tweets that four Democratic congresswomen should “go back” to their home countries. All are Americans. Green said Tuesday that Trump is unfit for office and “enough is enough.”

While Green said that he wants an up-or-down vote on articles of impeachment, the House has several options to dispose of his effort, though they each have drawbacks. The House could vote to table, or kill, the resolution, but that would in effect put lawmakers on the record about impeachment.

The House could also vote to refer the resolution to the Judiciary Committee, but Republicans would likely oppose that vote, forcing Democrats to vote in favor of the referral in order to move the resolution off the floor.

Any member of the House can force an impeachment vote. Green has done so twice before, unsuccessfully, in December 2017 and January 2018. In both cases, the Republican-led House decided to table the measure, voting 354-58 and 355-66, respectively.