House Democrat gives up effort to force vote on Trump after party leaders discourage it
The House will not go ahead with a planned vote on impeaching President Donald Trump, after Democratic House leaders vigorously fought the effort.
“After talking with many colleagues, I have decided not to force a vote on impeachment today. Instead, I will add to my articles of impeachment and continue to rally the support of both Democrats and Republicans to defend the Constitution with me,” said Rep. Shri Thanedar, D-Michigan, who was pushing the bid to impeach Trump.
“This is not about any one person or party; it is about defending America, our Constitution, and rule of law. I will continue to pursue all avenues to put this president on notice and hold him accountable for his many impeachable crimes,” he said in an X post.
The House had scheduled a vote at 5 p.m. Eastern on whether to kill Thanedar’s effort. Democratic leaders planned to vote to table, or kill, the proposal.
“I have said before from this podium that this is not the right approach we should be taking,” said Rep. Pete Aguilar, D-San Bernardino, the House Democratic Caucus chairman, at a news conference.
Thanedar had filed articles of impeachment against Trump. The articles say the president has violated constitutional law, among other things, including cutting government spending without seeking congressional consent.
While Democratic leaders tried to stop Thanedar, they also made it clear they’re not suddenly embracing Trump.
At the same news conference, Rep. Ted Lieu, D-Torrance, the caucus’ vice chairman, said Trump is “not at all popular. His policies are not popular. Some are lawless.”
But Democrats also realize that in a House where Republicans have the majority, impeachment has virtually no chance of passing.
CNN reported that during a private meeting of House Democrats on Wednesday, Rep. Jerrold Nadler, D-New York, called the impeachment effort “idiotic.” Nadler is the House Judiciary Committee’s top Democrat.
The party wants to keep the focus on other issues.
“Our focus is on health care being stripped away from the American people. That is the most urgent and dire thing that we could be talking about this week. Everything else is a distraction,” Aguilar said.
Trump has been impeached twice. In 2019 he was impeached for abuse of power and obstruction of justice related to his bid to persuade Ukraine to interfere in the presidential election.
The second time, he was impeached in 2021 for “incitement of insurrection” in connection with the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol riot.
In both cases, he was acquitted by the Senate.
This story was originally published May 14, 2025 at 10:32 AM.
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