Rep. Steve King (R-Iowa) said Wednesday he’s not trying to impeach President Obama, but he warned White House against staying on its current course for immigration.
“I am not pushing impeachment. What I am doing is trying to deter the president from violating the Constitution in a way I have never seen in the history of this country,” King said on CNN’s “New Day.”
King said Obama is “taunting Congress” by telling lawmakers on Capitol Hill he wants a certain law passed, and then taking executive action to implement it if Congress does nothing.
{mosads}“I want the president to operate in a lawful manner, in a constitutional manner,” King said, but he suggested there would be consequences if Obama decided to grant amnesty to people who have crossed into the United States illegally.
Last weekend the conservative Republican clearly suggested that impeachment proceedings for Obama would be legitimate if he continues to take executive action.
“From my standpoint, if the president [enacts more executive actions], we need to bring impeachment hearings immediately before the House of Representatives,” King said on Breitbart News Saturday, according to the conservative outlet. “That’s my position and that’s my prediction.”
King has also warned in previous years about Obama being impeached.
His latest comments come after House Majority Whip Steve Scalise (R-La.) on Sunday didn’t rule out impeachment.
On “Fox News Sunday,” he was asked whether he would consider impeaching Obama.
“This might be the first White House in history that’s trying to start the narrative of impeaching their own president. Ultimately, what we want to do is see the president follow the laws. But the president took an oath to faithfully execute the laws of this land, and he’s not,” Scalise said.
The House, meanwhile, is expected to vote Wednesday on a resolution that would authorize a lawsuit proposed by Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) that challenges Obama’s executive authority.
The White House has said in recent days that it’s taking the impeachment threat more seriously. The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) has sent out multiple fundraising emails to Democrats warning about impeachment, which DCCC chairman Steve Israel (D-N.Y.) said is “moving our base.”
A poll last week, however, found a majority of the public opposes the idea of impeaching Obama and opposes the Republican-sponsored lawsuit.