Texas Democratic Rep. Al Green said Wednesday he plans to bring articles of impeachment against President Trump after he suggested the U.S. should take over Gaza.
“The movement to impeach the president has begun,” Green said on the House floor. “I rise to announce that I will bring articles of impeachment against the president for dastardly deeds proposed and dastardly deeds done.”
On Tuesday, as Trump met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, he floated the idea of the U.S. taking over the Gaza Strip. He said Americans should be responsible for cleaning up and rebuilding the war-torn region, though he did not provide details about who would be able to live there.
These are some of Trump’s most extreme comments on the matter and come after the start of the Israel-Hamas ceasefire last month. There are nearly 2 million Palestinians who hope to have their own state.
Democrats, including Green, slammed the president for the remarks, calling the takeover idea “ethnic cleansing” and likened it to throwing a match on an already volatile situation.
“Ethnic cleansing is not a joke, especially when it emanates from the president of the United States, the most powerful person in the world, when he has the ability to perfect what he says, ethnic cleansing in Gaza is no joke, and the prime minister of Israel should be ashamed knowing the history of his people,” Green said.
Green denounced Trump’s remarks and said he wanted to remind people that the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. was correct when he said “injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.”
“Injustice in Gaza is a threat to justice in the United States of America,” he said.
Green was one of the lawmakers who initiated Trump’s first impeachment in 2017. He said Wednesday that he “laid the foundation for impeachment” and will do it again.
“I know that it’s time for us to lay the foundation again. On some issues, it is better to stand alone than not stand at all,” he said. “On this issue, I stand alone, but I stand for justice.”
Green called on the American people, noting that an impeachment movement must be a grassroots movement.
“The people have to demand it, and when the people demand it, it will be done,” he said.
The Hill has reached out to the White House for comment.
