Rep. Al Green (D-Texas) said Monday that he plans to force a vote on impeachment this month following President Trump’s inflammatory tweets telling a group of progressive Democratic congresswomen to “go back” to where they came from.
Green — who first unsuccessfully forced a vote on impeachment in 2017, with just 58 Democrats supporting the effort on the floor — said he feels he needs to take action due to the president’s recent rhetoric.
“I will again, this month, bring impeachment to a vote on the floor of the U.S. House of Representatives for bigotry in policy, harmful to our society,” he tweeted. #RacistPresident #ImpeachNow
In a press conference streamed on Facebook Live, the Texas Democrat said he plans to move forward before Congress breaks for its August recess, adding “to tolerate bigotry is to perpetuate bigotry, especially when you can do something about it.”{mosads}
“I’m a member of the House of Representatives, and I as a member can do something about it,” Green said. “Each member of the House of Representatives can bring articles of impeachment to the floor of the House of Representatives. I’m here today to tell you, again, to bring articles of impeachment to the floor of the House of Representatives.”
Green said that he thinks Trump has “demonstrated clearly that he is unfit to hold the office. He has demonstrated that he has little respect for members of the opposite sex.”
The comment comes after Trump’s Sunday tweets, which have sparked uproar on Capitol Hill and prompted Democratic lawmakers to slam Trump as racist and xenophobic. The tweets were aimed at a group of progressive Democratic lawmakers, all of whom are U.S. citizens.
A handful of Republicans have also criticized Trump over the tweets, though just one, Rep. Will Hurd (R-Texas) went as far as calling the tweets racist.
Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) on Monday urged members to support a forthcoming resolution to condemn what she described as the president’s “xenophobic” tweets.
Green has long-argued that Trump should be removed from office for inflaming racial tensions in America. He called for a second impeachment vote after reports that the president referred to immigrants from Haiti, El Salvador and some African nations as being from “shithole countries.”
His calls could be bolstered by growing support for impeachment in the Democratic party, which has largely focused on the administration’s refusal to cooperate with Democratic investigations. As of Monday, The Hill has counted more than 80 Democratic lawmakers who have endorsed an impeachment inquiry.
Updated at 1:30 p.m.