Dem lawmaker threatens to force Trump impeachment vote next week

Rep. Al Green (D-Texas) said Tuesday that he will move to force a House floor vote to impeach President Trump next week as he denounced Trump’s attacks on NFL players protesting police brutality.

Green, a member of the Congressional Black Caucus, stood on the GOP side of the House chamber to announce his plans to file a resolution that will automatically trigger a floor vote.

“I rise today as a proud American. A person who believes in his country, who salutes the flag and says the Pledge of Allegiance and sings the national anthem,” Green said, wearing an American flag-themed tie.

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“I will stand here in the well of the Congress, and I will call for the impeachment of the president of the United States of America,” he said.

Trump renewed the controversy over former San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick’s kneeling protests at a rally in Alabama on Friday.

“Wouldn’t you love to see one of these NFL owners, when somebody disrespects our flag, to say, ‘Get that son of a bitch off the field right now. He is fired,’ ” Trump said.

Green denounced Trump’s comments, saying they amount to “a level of indecency that is unbecoming the presidency.”

“I rise to say to the world that this is not what America is all about,” Green said, hitting the podium for emphasis.

Under House rules, any member can file what is known as a “privileged” resolution that argues something goes against the dignity and integrity of the House.

Even if Republicans reject it, as expected, Green can still force a procedural vote on his resolution.

Green has called for Trump’s impeachment before. He signed on to an article of impeachment filed by Rep. Brad Sherman (D-Calif.) in July that argues Trump obstructed justice by firing James Comey as FBI director amid the agency’s investigation of whether his campaign colluded with the Russian government.

Green previously threatened to file a privileged resolution to impeach Trump in June if he ousted Robert Mueller, the special counsel now overseeing the FBI’s investigation.

“I think that would be a part of the last straw, if not the last straw, if he did that,” Green told The Hill at the time.

It’s unclear if the latest privileged resolution on which Green is threatening to force a vote will also cite the Comey firing as justification for impeaching Trump. A spokesman didn’t immediately return a request for comment.