Rep. Al Green (D-TX) on Tuesday filed an article of impeachment against President Donald Trump for failing to seek authorization from Congress before he bombed nuclear sites in Iran.
Green’s resolution alleged “abuse of presidential powers by disregarding the separation of powers — devolving American democracy into authoritarianism by unconstitutionally usurping Congress’s power to declare war.”
“President Trump’s unilateral, unprovoked use of force without congressional authorization or notice constitutes an abuse of power when there was no imminent threat to the United States, which facilitates the devolution of American democracy into authoritarianism,” the Texas Democrat continued.
Congress has the authority to declare war under Article I of the Constitution; however, presidents on both sides of the aisle have authorized strikes without formal approval from Congress.
Green accused Trump of being an “authoritarian president” as well as a “threat to American democracy.” He has previous faulted Trump’s supposed abuse of power citing his immigration agenda, his criticism of federal judges, and the January 6 protests.
“I did not come to Congress to be a bystander while a president abuses power and devolves American democracy into authoritarianism with himself as an authoritarian president. President Trump’s unauthorized bombing of Iran constitutes a de facto declaration of war,” Green said in a written statement.
“No president has the right to drag this nation into war without the authorization of the people’s representatives,” he added.
White House spokesperson Taylor Rodgers defended the president’s successful “peace through strength” strategy.
“President Trump was able to quickly accomplish what no other President has been able to achieve — thanks to his ‘peace through strength’ leadership, Iran’s nuclear program has been obliterated and a ceasefire has been agreed to,” Rodgers said.
“Eliminating the prospect of nuclear war is a non-partisan and unifying accomplishment that everyone should celebrate as a historic moment for United States, the Middle East, and the entire world,” Rodgers added.
Sean Moran is a policy reporter for Breitbart News. Follow him on X @SeanMoran3.
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