"Look for other ways to get attention": House Dems face new Trump impeachment blowup

Rep. Al Green (D-Texas) is facing swift and intense anger from his Democratic colleagues after announcing plans to force a vote to impeach President Trump this week.

Why it matters: This is a messaging headache the party did not need going into the House's last week in session before midterm Election Day, frustrated House Democrats told Axios.

• "It's fucked up," said a senior House Democrat, speaking on the condition of anonymity to offer candid criticism of a fellow Democrat.
• Fumed a second lawmaker: "There's a reason why Al Green isn't coming back. This is exactly what people don't want. People want us focusing on affordability and AI, not on starting this futile impeachment game."
• Green said in an interview: "People are dying, and they are talking about strategy."

Driving the news: Green said in a letter to Trump, which he cc'd to fellow members of Congress, that he will exercise his privilege to force a House impeachment vote "during the legislative business of September 14-17."

• He said the vote will be based on the killings of Renée Good, Alex Pretti, Lorenzo Salgado Araujo and Johan Sebastián Durán Guerrero by federal immigration officers.
• "You are condoning, supporting, and covering up these unjustified killings. The American people deserve more from their leader," Green wrote to Trump.

Between the lines: Green, who lost his primary to fellow Rep. Christian Menefee (D-Texas) in May, has positioned himself as one of the president's most obdurate critics in Congress.

• He was escorted out of Trump's speech to a joint session of Congress last year and his State of the Union this year, both times for heckling.
• He mounted rogue efforts to impeach Trump in 2017, 2018, and twice last year, but all of his attempts were quashed in bipartisan procedural votes.

What we're hearing: A third House Democrat vented that "Rep. Green appears to only be thinking about himself. Not about strategy. Not about building a coalition."

• "We need serious people in our caucus focused on the mission: flipping the House to end this national nightmare," the lawmaker said.
• A fourth House Democrat told Axios: "Sure, he will excite the non-strategic activist crowd. But why is he empowering Trump?"
• "Every time you swing and miss at the guy, his approval rating goes up. Look for other ways to get attention," they added.

Between the lines: Others, including party leadership, are brushing the vote off as a distraction.

• "Another day, another Al Green moment," a Democratic leadership source said.
• A fifth House Democrat told Axios: "Obviously, he is looking to keep his profile up. Don't think this fundamentally changes anything."

The other side: "Where is the fight in the Democrats that are speaking anonymously? ... They don't have the courage to stand up and face me," Green told Axios.

• "I would challenge any one of them or all of them to debate me." he added.
• Green also pushed back on the argument that his impeachment vote is pointless: "Rosa Parks didn't know she was going to win. In fact, Rosa Parks knew she wouldn't win the night she took a seat on that bus."
• "Not one of them indicated that the president's actions are not impeachable, yet these Democrats are going to vote to stall and/or prevent the president from being impeached," the Texas Democrat said.

The intrigue: Some Democrats who privately dislike Green's impeachment push likely will vote for it anyway for fear of backlash from the party base.

• "If he forces it, I have no choice but to vote for it," acknowledged the third House Democrat.
• There are also some true believers like Rep. Shri Thanedar (D-Mich.), who is also leaving Congress next year after losing his primary and told Axios: "Obviously I will be voting for [it]."

What to watch: While Democrats can easily shrug off this vote as a farce, they will face a very real dilemma next year if they retake control of one or both chambers of Congress, as Axios previously reported.

• House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) is toeing a careful line on the issue, saying in a CNN interview last month, "We haven't ruled anything in, and we haven't ruled anything out."
• His public ambivalence reflects genuine divisions among House Democrats as to whether it is worth trying to impeach Trump a third time.