It’s been just over 100 days and already two unhinged Democrats — Al Green of Texas and Shri Thanedar of Michigan — have filed articles of impeachment against President Donald Trump. That must be some kind of new record, and it likely is, but while Green appears to have gotten away with his filings, Thanedar, a native of India, wasn’t so lucky. Turns out several members of his party aren’t happy at all with him, according to Axios.
Thanedar filed multiple articles of impeachment against the president this week over the deportation of Kilmar Ábrego García, a documented MS-13 member with ties to a convicted human trafficker, per the administration. Thanedar’s unauthorized effort is unlikely to succeed and has angered House Democrats, who called it “premature and unproductive,” Axios reported. A small faction of left-wing hardliners, however, applauds the move as a way to build momentum for a future impeachment effort on other grounds.
Four of the Michigan congressman’s Democratic colleagues were originally listed as co-sponsors, but all have since withdrawn, saying they were under the impression the effort had party leadership’s backing. One source told Axios that Thanedar added a co-sponsor after a “vague one-on-one conversation” without informing their staff.
Thanedar speaks at Executive Connect in Washington D.C.
Photo: Patrick Siebert
The timing of Thanedar’s announcement raised eyebrows—it came just hours after local Democrats, frustrated by his record, recruited a primary challenger. When asked if party leaders were taking Thanedar’s impeachment effort seriously, Rep. Jim Himes (D-CT), the ranking member on the House Judiciary Committee, replied, “I don’t think so.” He added in comments to Axios: “There is a long, long, long way to go before the concept of impeachment is on the table.”
Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-MD), a prominent progressive member of Congress and a member of the January 6 committee, expressed concerns about the current impeachment effort.“The fact that people have withdrawn … suggests people wanted to think through, collectively, the timing of it,” he said. Several House Democrats, speaking anonymously, expressed less than cordial thoughts on the matter.
“This is a self-own that … fundamentally undermines our capacity to continue to have a conversation with people we need to win over,” one anonymous Democrat source told the outlet. “Why would we do something that has failed twice as a strategy and yielded no electoral win? The guy got impeached twice, how did it work out for us?” another added, speaking of Trump.
For his part, Thanedar was unrepentant. He told Axios that he “respects” the decisions of his colleagues and believes he made the right decision. “My constituents elected me to do what I think is right and I felt I had to introduce articles of impeachment in response to the President’s many crimes and unconstitutional activity,” he said. “These were articles that I drafted, without any other members. As more offices analyze the articles, I hope more will come on board, and I’m grateful for my colleague Rep. Al Green’s support and co-sponsorship.”
Just another Democrat who is more than willing to break our constitutional system in order to gain some short-term political prowess. The good news is, he’s just been run over by the karma bus — by his own party.
