128 Democrats Just Voted to Make Themselves Obsolete.
6/25/2025
Yesterday, my Democratic representative, Chrissy Houlahan, stood shoulder to shoulder with Republicans to block impeachment of Donald Trump for unilaterally bombing Iran. She was not alone. A staggering 128 Democrats joined the GOP to table impeachment articles introduced by Rep. Al Green.
Yet the fact remains, Trump didn’t get congressional approval. He didn’t ask for it. He didn’t care. He ordered coordinated strikes on Iran’s nuclear infrastructure - an act of war - without oversight, without transparency, without consequence. And the majority of Democrats let him walk away clean.
What’s the excuse? Democratic leadership calls it “unserious.” They say it was a distraction. A procedural stunt. A fringe move by one progressive member. But let’s be honest: those are the same excuses we hear every time they want to duck a real fight. And while they’re busy calculating the optics, the actual optics are this: the Democratic Party just gave Trump a green light to escalate foreign war without accountability.
You know what is worse than “unserious?” Headlines like this: “Democrats Side with Republicans to Shield Trump from Impeachment.” That’s what happened. That’s what the public sees. And that’s what they will remember.
Let’s not pretend the GOP would’ve done the same. If a Democratic president had bombed three nuclear sites in a volatile region without congressional authorization - Republicans would’ve moved to impeach before the dust settled. They’ve done it for less. Republicans impeached Bill Clinton over the semantics of lying about an extramarital affair. They impeached Joe Biden over immigration policy. But this time - it’s war. This isn’t a personal scandal or a policy dispute. It’s a president dragging us into conflict without authorization. And still, Democrats ran for cover - even when the case was clear and constitutional.
At this point, what is the purpose of Congress? If their votes can be ignored, if their constitutional power can be bypassed at will, if they won’t even try to assert their authority - then why are they there? They’re not a check. They’re not a balance. They’re background noise to executive power. And the Democrats just proved it.
And spare me the “it wouldn’t have worked” argument. Trump was impeached twice and acquitted both times. So what? Accountability isn’t about guaranteed outcomes. It’s about courage. It’s about drawing the line. It’s about making it clear to the American people - and to future presidents - that we are not ruled by kings with unlimited power.
What kind of message does it send when Democrats won’t even try?
Here’s the reality: Trump escalated a conflict, bypassing Congress and endangering lives. It is the textbook definition of a high crime - usurping war powers reserved to the legislative branch. And still, Democratic leadership chose to protect the status quo. Hakeem Jeffries? Katherine Clark? Pete Aguilar? They all voted with Republicans to protect Trump. And Chrissy Houlahan - my own representative - once again chose the same path she too often does: voting with Republicans, not against them.
Houlahan has a troubling pattern. From voting to increase defense spending beyond what even the Pentagon requested, to backing deregulatory measures alongside GOP colleagues, and now this - she has repeatedly prioritized political caution and corporate-friendly centrism over principle. She didn’t just vote to table impeachment; she voted to protect Trump’s war powers.
Meanwhile, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez stood up and said what we all should be saying: “This is grounds for impeachment.” She was right. But her voice - and the voices of 79 Democrats who had the guts to act - were drowned out by 128 of their colleagues who would rather be cautious than just.
The List: 128 Democrats Who Voted to Table Impeachment and Let Trump Off the Hook
1. Pete Aguilar (CA)
2. Gabe Amo (RI)
3. Jake Auchincloss (MA)
4. Wesley Bell (MO)
5. Ami Bera (CA)
6. Don Beyer (VA)
7. Sanford Bishop (GA)
8. Julia Brownley (CA)
9. Nikki Budzinski (IL)
10. Janelle Bynum (OR)
11. Salud Carbajal (CA)
12. Andre Carson (IN)
13. Ed Case (HI)
14. Sean Casten (IL)
15. Kathy Castor (FL)
16. Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick (FL)
17. Katherine Clark (MA)
18. Emanuel Cleaver (MO)
19. Jim Clyburn (SC)
20. Herb Conaway (NJ)
21. Lou Correa (CA)
22. Jim Costa (CA)
23. Joe Courtney (CT)
24. Angie Craig (MN)
25. Jason Crow (CO)
26. Henry Cuellar (TX)
27. Sharice Davids (KS)
28. Don Davis (NC)
29. Madeleine Dean (PA)
30. Rosa DeLauro (CT)
31. Suzan DelBene (WA)
32. Chris Deluzio (PA)
33. Debbie Dingell (MI)
34. Sarah Elfreth (MD)
35. Cleo Fields (LA)
36. Shomari Figures (AL)
37. Lizzie Fletcher (TX)
38. Bill Foster (IL)
39. Lois Frankel (FL)
40. Laura Gillen (NY)
41. Jared Golden (ME)
42. Dan Goldman (NY)
43. Vicente Gonzalez (TX)
44. Maggie Goodlander (NH)
45. Josh Gottheimer (NJ)
46. Adam Gray (CA)
47. Josh Harder (CA)
48. Jim Himes (CT)
49. Steven Horsford (NV)
50. Chrissy Houlahan (PA)
51. Steny Hoyer (MD)
52. Val Hoyle (OR)
53. Hakeem Jeffries (NY)
54. Julie Johnson (TX)
55. Marcy Kaptur (OH)
56. Bill Keating (MA)
57. Timothy Kennedy (NY)
58. Ro Khanna (CA)
59. Greg Landsman (OH)
60. Rick Larsen (WA)
61. John Larson (CT)
62. George Latimer (NY)
63. Susie Lee (NV)
64. Mike Levin (CA)
65. Sam Liccardo (CA)
66. Ted Lieu (CA)
67. Zoe Lofgren (CA)
68. Stephen Lynch (MA)
69. Seth Magaziner (RI)
70. John Mannion (NY)
71. Lucy McBath (GA)
72. Sarah McBride (DE)
73. April McClain Delaney (MD)
74. Jennifer McClellan (VA)
75. Betty McCollum (MN)
76. Kristen McDonald Rivet (MI)
77. Morgan McGarvey (KY)
78. Gregory Meeks (NY)
79. Grace Meng (NY)
80. Kweisi Mfume (MD)
81. Joe Morelle (NY)
82. Kelly Morrison (MN)
83. Jared Moskowitz (FL)
84. Seth Moulton (MA)
85. Frank Mrvan (IN)
86. Richard Neal (MA)
87. Joe Neguse (CO)
88. Johnny Olszewski (MD)
89. Frank Pallone (NJ)
90. Jimmy Panetta (CA)
91. Chris Pappas (NH)
92. Nancy Pelosi (CA)
93. Marie Gluesenkamp Perez (WA)
94. Scott Peters (CA)
95. Brittany Pettersen (CO)
96. Nellie Pou (NJ)
97. Mike Quigley (IL)
98. Jamie Raskin (MD)
99. Josh Riley (NY)
100. Deborah Ross (NC)
101. Pat Ryan (NY)
102. Andrea Salinas (OR)
103. Mary Gay Scanlon (PA)
104. Brad Schneider (IL)
105. Hillary Scholten (MI)
106. Kim Schrier (WA)
107. Bobby Scott (VA)
108. Terri Sewell (AL)
109. Adam Smith (WA)
110. Eric Sorensen (IL)
111. Darren Soto (FL)
112. Greg Stanton (AZ)
113. Haley Stevens (MI)
114. Marilyn Strickland (WA)
115. Suhas Subramanyam (VA)
116. Tom Suozzi (NY)
117. Emilia Sykes (OH)
118. Paul Tonko (NY)
119. Ritchie Torres (NY)
120. Lori Trahan (MA)
121. Derek Tran (CA)
122. Lauren Underwood (IL)
123. Juan Vargas (CA)
124. Gabe Vasquez (NM)
125. Marc Veasey (TX)
126. Eugene Vindman (VA)
127. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (FL)
128. George Whitesides (CA)
This isn’t just about Trump. It’s about whether Democrats actually stand for democracy. Because if they won’t impeach an authoritarian who bombs a sovereign country without legal authority, what will they stand up for?
We don’t need Democrats who flinch. We need Democrats who fight. That starts with holding our own accountable.