Lawmaker Won't Force House Vote on Impeachment

UPDATE May 14, 2025 6:55 PM CDT

Facing opposition from Democratic leaders, Rep. Shri Thanedar is easing off his plan to force a House vote on a resolution to impeach President Trump. "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," he posted Wednesday on social media, the AP reports. Rep. Jamie Raskin is among the Democrats who asked Thanedar to reconsider, saying impeachment "as a constitutional matter is a mixed question of law and politics," and Democrats lack the numbers to remove Trump at the moment. Thanedar said he'll still keep an eye on Trump's activities. Should the president accept the gift of a jumbo jet from Qatar's royal family, for instance, the Michigan Democrat said that will be added to his resolution.

Apr 30, 2025 4:48 PM CDT

Three House Democrats who signed on to Rep. Shri Thanedar's resolution to impeach President Trump have now signed off it. Reps. Kweisi Mfume, Robin Kelly, and Jerry Nadler are no longer co-sponsors after asking the House clerk to remove their names, the Hill reports. That leaves only Rep. Jan Schakowsky on the resolution with Thanedar, after she added her name Tuesday. The defections did not appear to deter Thanedar. "I can not speak for the actions of other members," he said in a statement Wednesday. "But I am doing this because Trump has blatantly violated the constitution."

Aides to Kelly and Mfume said the two backed away when they learned the resolution hadn't been approved by Democratic leaders, per the Hill. Nadler did not give a reason. Hours earlier, the chairman of the House Democratic Caucus said that, given the fact that Republicans control both houses of Congress, trying to remove Trump from office "is not an exercise that we're willing to undertake." Trump was impeached twice in his first term but not voted out by the Senate. Rep. Pete Aguilar also said, "We don't have any confidence that House and Senate Republicans would do their jobs." Thanedar's resolution has seven articles, which the Detroit Free Press lists here. (More impeachment stories.)