Democrats join Republicans in shooting down Trump impeachment

US House of Representatives votes 344 to 79 to block a measure pushing President Donald Trump’s impeachment for “declaration of war” from being brought for a formal vote.

By World Israel News Staff

A majority of House Democrats joined with the lower chamber of the US Congress’s Republican lawmakers to block a resolution drafted by a Democratic representative aimed at impeaching President Donald Trump.

Trump, who was impeached twice during his first term – and acquitted both times by the Senate – faces renewed calls for his impeachment, this time over his decision to carry out airstrikes on three Iranian nuclear facilities.

“I did not come to Congress to be a bystander while a president abuses power and devolves American democracy into authoritarianism with himself as an authoritarian president,” Rep. Al Green (D-TX), the author of the impeachment resolution, said on Tuesday morning.

“President Trump’s unauthorized bombing of Iran constitutes a de facto declaration of war. No president has the right to drag this nation into war without the authorization of the people’s representatives.”

While the US Constitution grants only Congress the power to declare war, it makes no explicit limits on the president’s ability as Commander-in-Chief to order military operations outside of declared wars.

The 1973 War Powers Resolution obligates the president to notify Congress within 48 hours of carrying out military action not approved by congressional vote, and caps unapproved military operations at 60 days.

A majority of the House’s 212 Democrats, however, voted with the chamber’s Republican delegation to prevent Green’s measure from going up for consideration, with just 79 Democrats voting to proceed with consideration of the resolution.

The House vote against bringing the resolution up for consideration was 344 to 79.

The House’s top Democrats; Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries of New York, House Minority Whip Katherine Clark of Massachusetts, and House Democratic Caucus Chairman Pete Aguilar of California all voted with Republicans to block the impeachment resolution.