Trump impeachment vote will take place by Christmas, Democrat vows

Al Green and Brad Sherman talk about plans draft articles of impeachment against Donald Trump in Washington, D.C. on June 7, 2017 (REUTERS/Aaron P. Bernstein)

Congressman Al Green has announced that he will force a vote to impeach President Donald Trump onto the House floor before Christmas.

The Democrat from Texas said that he “had been told there will be political consequences” over the move - but added: “I accept the consequences”. Mr Green had unveiled articles of impeachment last month, but did not force a vote at that time as he said he wanted the public to be able to consider them first.

The articles of impeachment Mr Green introduced say Mr Trump has “a demonstrable record of inciting white supremacy, sexism, bigotry, hatred, xenophobia, race-baiting, and racism”, which is “fueling an alt-right hate machine and its worldwide covert sympathizers” in a way that is “causing immediate injury to American society”.

It recounts a long list of Mr Trump's divisive, racially-charged rhetoric and false claims, including his comments that protesting “son of a bitch” NFL players should be removed; his equivocal response to white supremacist violence in Virginia; his disparaging of Puerto Ricans recovering from hurricane devastation; and his lie that millions of immigrants voted illegally.

With the anniversary of Mr Trump's election result falling today, Mr Green recounted the events to The Hill saying that on that right “the unbelievable had become a reality”. Mr Green said that he is eyeing his legacy, despite talk of impeachment having been downplayed by others in the Democratic Party.

“History won't be kind to us” with out them, he said.

Mr Green is among the most vocal in a contingent of Democrats who have been clamouring for Mr Trump's impeachment, arguing the President has demonstrated he is not fit to serve. Some Congress members have argued that Mr Trump is psychologically unstable enough to merit removal.

If he does force a vote, Mr Green would take the most concrete step yet. It's almost certain that the Republican-controlled House of Representatives would sideline the measure, making it a largely symbolic cry of partisan opposition.

But Democratic wins across the board in this week's elections, including Virginia Lt Gov Ralph Northam winning a highly contested governor's race, have buoyed hopes that Democrats could retake the House majority next year. That could lend more momentum to the impeachment push.

It's not just an agitated and Trump-averse voter base pushing impeachment. Wealthy liberal benefactor Tom Steyer has already invested heavily in the impeachment effort, spending millions on ads calling for Mr Trump's removal and applying pressure to Democrats by urging them to take a stand before 2018 elections.