Donald Trump Declares ‘Massive Victory’ After Democrats Back Away From Impeachment
In response to President Donald Trump’s tweets aimed at progressive congresswomen of color, Representative Al Green of Texas used on Wednesday the privileged motion tactic to force his impeachment articles to the floor of the Democratic-controlled House of Representatives.
As Vox reported, Green’s resolution was set aside in a 332-95 vote. One hundred and thirty-seven Democrats voted to table the resolution, pushing back against the initiative. The refusal to move forward came as no surprise, given that Democratic leadership — including Speaker Nancy Pelosi — has long argued against impeachment, despite push-back from progressives.
Now, the president is declaring a “massive victory.”
Per The Hill, Trump called the vote a “big waste of time” while speaking to reporters as he departed the White House on Friday afternoon.
“As far as I’m concerned they already took their impeachment vote, and the impeachment vote was so lopsided, it was a massive victory.”
The commander-in-chief also revealed that he will not be watching special counsel Robert Mueller’s testimony next week, urging the Democratic Party to “stop playing games.”
“And you know what, at some point they have to stop playing games, because they’re just playing games. No, I won’t be watching Mueller,” he said.
Mueller, who is slated to testify before the House Judiciary and Intelligence committees on July 24, did not find sufficient evidence of a Trump-Russia conspiracy. Mueller did not charge Trump with obstruction of justice either, choosing to adhere to longstanding Justice Department policy which states that no sitting president can be indicted.
As The Hill notes, some pro-impeachment Democrats have suggested that the hearing could help change the leadership’s strategy, and result in impeachment proceedings.
JUST IN: Trump says he won't watch Mueller testimony https://t.co/WwcEXCL2Yb pic.twitter.com/dc4pWxWenr
— The Hill (@thehill) July 19, 2019
Mueller was originally meant to testify on July 17, and by moving the testimony by one week the Democrats have essentially made it impossible to take any concrete action. As NBC News reported, the Mueller hearing will occur just two days before the House is expected to go on a six-week recess.
As previously reported by The Inquisitr, the leadership’s refusal to move forward with impeachment has also caused conflicts within the Democratic Party, with progressive representatives calling for a more aggressive approach, and Pelosi and other top Democrats pushing back against their suggestions.
The feud further escalated after Pelosi dismissed the progressive members of her caucus — Representatives Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York, Rashida Tlaib of Michigan, Ilhan Omar of Minnesota, and Ayanna Pressley of Massachusettes — in high-profile interviews, which caused the congresswomen to hit back.
Trump injected himself into the conversation, siding with Pelosi and publicly insulting the progressive quartet.
