Michigan congresswoman Rashida Tlaib and a group of her fellow House Democrats are ignoring the opposition of Speaker Nancy Pelosi (Calif.) to move forward with impeaching President Donald Trump.
On Monday, Pelosi signaled for the first time that she was "not for impeachment," even though she believed Trump was "ethically" and "intellectually" unfit for the presidency.
"Impeachment is so divisive to the country that unless there’s something so compelling and overwhelming and bipartisan, I don't think we should go down that path, because it divides the country," Pelosi told the Washington Post. "And he's just not worth it."
Pelosi's announcement came on the heels of a renewed push for impeachment among liberals in the House Democratic majority. Last week, Tlaib announced plans to introduce a resolution urging the House Judiciary Committee to investigate grounds for Trump's impeachment. As previously reported by the Washington Free Beacon, after the announcement Tlaib's reelection committee launched fundraising ads accusing Trump of "abusing his pardon power, violating emoluments clauses, undermining the freedom of the press, obstructing justice, and discriminating against people based on their race, ethnicity, and religion."
Although Tlaib's impeachment resolution has yet to be released, its language is likely to be similar to one introduced by Democratic representatives Brad Sherman (Calif.) and Al Green (Tex.) in January. The Sherman-Green resolution accuses Trump of having obstructed justice by firing former FBI director James Comey in the midst of the federal investigation into Russia's interference in the 2016 presidential election.
Despite Pelosi's opposition and the speaker's concern over dividing the country, Tlaib and others appear unmoved from their current trajectory.
Tlaib, who was previously caught on camera promising to "impeach the motherf—," still plans to introduce her impeachment resolution, as confirmed to Free Beacon by the congresswoman's office.
"What you all should know is Speaker Pelosi always tells us, new members, 'represent your district.' And that's what I’ve been doing," Tlaib told reporters at the Capitol on Tuesday. "Speaker Pelosi has never told me to stop or do anything differently—ever. I know it's hard to believe, but it's very true."
Likewise on Tuesday, Green promised to continue his push for impeachment, regardless of the feelings of Pelosi and the rest of the Democratic leadership.
"I won't address Speaker Pelosi, but here's what I will address: There are opinion-makers and opinion-shapers who want to maintain the status quo," Green said during an interview with C-SPAN. "For them, bigotry is a talking point, not an action item. It's an action item for me."
Green, who led two unsuccessful efforts to force a vote on impeaching Trump for using statements that "constituted harm to American society and manifest injury of the people of the United States," said he would do so again this Congress.
"We have to get beyond talking points and have bigotry as an action item," Green said. "And the one way it will be an action item in the Congress of the United States of America is to have a vote. We will all go on record. Everybody do what you may. I don't believe we should lobby people and whip people as we captured it in Congress, I think people should vote their convictions. History will be there to judge us all."
Neither Green nor Sherman's congressional office returned requests for comment on this story.