House Tables Trump Impeachment Measure

Forty-seven Democrats voted ‘present.’

The U.S. Capitol at sunset in Washington on Dec. 2, 2025. Madalina Kilroy/The Epoch Times

WASHINGTON—The House of Representatives voted on Dec. 11 to table an impeachment resolution against President Donald Trump.

The motion to table passed 237–140, with 47 Democrats voting “present.”

Rep. Al Green (D-Texas) introduced the two articles of impeachment over Trump’s criticism against several members of Congress who called on service members to disobey what they said were “illegal orders” and in response to “threatening federal judges.”

In an open letter dated Dec. 10, Green explained his rationale for impeaching Trump.

“We know that if any other president had called for the execution of members of Congress and used vituperative language to intimidate federal judges, the opposition party would not wait until they had a majority to vote for his impeachment—they would do more than condemn his behavior,” he wrote. “Each and every one would have voted to impeach him, and some members of the other party would join them. We just cannot wait until we all agree to do the right thing.”

In a video posted on X on Nov. 18, six Democratic members of Congress—all of them military or intelligence veterans—called for members of the military and intelligence community to refuse to follow “illegal orders.” They did not give specifics about illegal orders given by the Trump administration.

One of the lawmakers, Sen. Elissa Slotkin (D-Mich.), later said she wasn’t aware of any illegal orders by Trump, but that the video served as a warning in case one is issued.

The video came amid scrutiny of Trump sending the National Guard to cities he said are troubled by crime and illegal immigration, including Chicago, as well as U.S. military strikes on alleged drug traffickers in the Caribbean. The administration has said that the strikes are legal self-defense against illicit drugs harming Americans and that it doesn’t need to seek congressional approval to conduct them.

In response to the video, Trump said on Nov. 20 in a social media post that the lawmakers’ call was “really bad, and Dangerous to our Country.”

“Their words cannot be allowed to stand,” he wrote. “Seditious behavior from traitors!!! Lock them up???”

The president, in a later post, called the remarks “SEDITIOUS BEHAVIOR, punishable by DEATH!”

The FBI has opened a probe into the video, and the Pentagon is investigating one of the video’s participants, Sen. Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.), a retired Navy officer, over possible misconduct.

When it comes to judges, Trump has criticized rulings against his administration’s policies and actions.

House GOP Conference Chairwoman Lisa McClain (R-Mich.) called the impeachment resolution “unfounded.”

In a joint statement, House Democrat leadership—House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.), House Minority Whip Katherine Clark (D-Mass.), and House Democrat Conference Chairman Pete Aguilar (D-Calif.)—explained their “present” vote.

“Impeachment is a sacred constitutional vehicle designed to hold a corrupt executive accountable for abuse of power, breaking the law, and violating the public trust,” they said.

“The effort traditionally requires a comprehensive investigative process, the collection and review of thousands of documents, an exacting scrutiny of the facts, the examination of dozens of key witnesses, Congressional hearings, sustained public organizing, and the marshaling of the forces of democracy to build a broad national consensus,” they continued. “None of that serious work has been done.”

Rep. Angie Craig (D-Minn.) broke rank with House Democrat leadership and voted against the motion to table. She criticized the president for his castigation of six Congress members who encouraged military personnel to disobey perceived unlawful orders.

“Today, I voted to begin the process of impeaching President Trump. Enough is enough,” she wrote on X.