Rep. Ro Khanna of California sticks with Democratic push to oust Trump
Rep. Ro Khanna of California isn’t backing down from his push to impeach President Trump for a third time, putting him at odds with fellow Democrats who say it’s a waste of time while they’re in the minority.
Mr. Khanna, a likely 2028 presidential candidate, told “Fox News Sunday” that his push for impeachment is rooted in moral conviction.
“I believe that we have certain moral principles and that the American president should not threaten to erase Iranian civilization from the face of the earth,” Mr. Khanna said. “Let America not threaten to bomb people into the Stone Age. Even kings don’t do that. Even dictators don’t do that.”
“I believe in the Declaration of Independence, that all men are created equal before God and that everyone has dignity. And I don’t want an American president to make these kinds of threats because they undermine the fundamental principles of our nation. They undermine our faith. They undermine who we are as Americans,” he said.
Mr. Khanna was referring to Mr. Trump’s escalating threats days before the United States and Iran agreed to a two-week ceasefire.
As his self-imposed deadline Tuesday evening for Iran to reopen the Strait of Hormuz approached, Mr. Trump posted on Truth Social that “an entire civilization will die tonight, never to be brought back.”
The warning caps weeks of increasingly harsh rhetoric in which Mr. Trump has threatened to bomb Iran into the “Stone Age” and reduce its bridges and power plants to rubble — strikes that legal experts say would constitute war crimes.
Dozens of Democrats responded by saying Mr. Trump should be removed from office under the 25th Amendment or by impeachment.
But Democratic leaders have refused to jump on the impeachment bandwagon, indicating they are more interested in remaining focused on Mr. Trump’s economic record and his failure to cut costs. This did not dampen the enthusiasm of the left wing of the party and the most rabid anti-Trump voices.
Democrats do not have the votes to impeach Mr. Trump at the moment, but many in the party are considering doing so next year and are using the impeachment drive to energize grassroots activists ahead of this fall’s midterm elections.
Mr. Trump was impeached twice during his first term over allegations that he withheld military aid to Ukraine to pressure President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to investigate former President Joseph R. Biden and for inciting the January 6, 2021, riots at the United States Capitol. It was not convicted in the Senate, where a two-thirds vote is required.
Representative Madeleine Dean, a Pennsylvania Democrat who served as impeachment manager in the House during her second impeachment trial, recently cast a chill over the idea of forcing Mr. Trump from office.
“As you all know, we are in the minority, so to move for impeachment right now, when he is guilty of a litany of high crimes and misdemeanors, I don’t think is the best use of our time. Let’s come into the majority,” Ms. Dean said. “Let’s get a majority in the Senate and then hold this president accountable.” »
