United States President Donald Trump successfully survived an impeachment attempt in the House of Representatives on Tuesday. A resolution introduced by Representative Al Green, seeking to impeach the President over recent strikes on Iran, was overwhelmingly tabled in a 344-79 vote.
This outcome saw a significant number of Democrats join with Republicans to quash the measure. The vote breakdown, as reported by Politico, revealed that 128 Democrats sided with all 216 House Republicans to block Green’s resolution. This group notably included much of the Democratic leadership, such as House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries and House Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi, who have expressed caution regarding further impeachment efforts given Trump’s two previous impeachments failed during his first term in office.
Conversely, 79 House Democrats, predominantly progressives from electorally safe districts, voted to keep Green’s resolution alive. This contingent included prominent figures like Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, who has been vocal in her calls for impeachment following the Iran strikes.
This development follows closely on the heels of Israel’s surprise air war, launched on June 13, which targeted Iranian nuclear sites. Israel stated these sites were part of Tehran’s efforts to develop an atomic bomb and resulted in the killing of top military commanders—the worst blow to the Islamic Republic since the 1980s war with Iraq. Iran, which maintains its uranium enrichment program is for peaceful purposes and denies seeking nuclear weapons, retaliated with a series of missile barrages on Israeli cities.
This escalation in regional tensions also saw US military intervention after President Trump, on June 21, ordered strikes on three nuclear sites in Iran—Fordow, Natanz, and Isfahan—prior to congressionally-mandated authorization for the use of military force.
Earlier on Tuesday, both Iran and Israel signaled that their air conflict had concluded, at least for now, after President Trump intervened, scolding them for violating a ceasefire he had announced at 0500 GMT. This prompted Representative Green to force a quick vote on his five-page measure, which argued that Trump “disregarded the doctrine of separation of powers by usurping Congress’s power to declare war.”
This move was met with private fury by many House Democrats. Lawmakers vented that the vote was “premature” and “unhelpful,” describing it as a “completely unserious and selfish move” that put them in a difficult political position, as reported by Axios. Several Democrats expressed frustration, citing “a lot” of anger about the vote and the general sentiment that “most people think it’s unhelpful.” They highlighted the challenge of balancing the demands of grassroots activists pushing for impeachment with the broader, more moderate electorate. “It puts people in a difficult situation,” one House Democrat commented, while another fumed, “There are a lot of other things we should be focused on right now.”
Concerns were also raised about the legal and strategic merits of Green’s resolution. Some lawmakers argued that the measure was weak, even more so than a prior impeachment attempt by Representative Shri Thanedar that was withdrawn last month due to fierce blowback. “What a message to China and Russia — after we take military action, we try to impeach the president,” said Representative Jared Moskowitz. Another Democrat questioned the potential for courts to uphold the impeachment, noting the “fiercely contested” nature of constitutional war powers.
Despite widespread criticism from his own party, Representative Green told Axios he had “not one scintilla of regret” about forcing the vote, asserting it was a matter of “conscience.” Green emphasized his belief that “no one person should have the power to take over 300 million people to war without consulting with Congress.”
