Texas Lawmaker Launches Trump Impeachment Effort: 'The Movement to Impeach the President Has Begun'

A Texas lawmaker has launched impeachment efforts against President Donald Trump less than a month into his second term, citing Trump's comments about plans to "take over" Gaza.

Rep. Al Green declared that "ethnic cleansing is not a joke" during a speech on the House floor Wednesday. The remarks came after Trump expressed interest in the US developing Gaza, saying he would turn it into the "Riviera of the Middle East."

"Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere. And injustice in Gaza is a threat to justice in the United States of America," Green said, invoking the words of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

"I rise to announce that the movement to impeach the president has begun. I rise to announce that I will bring articles of impeachment against the president for dastardly deeds proposed and dastardly deeds done," he continued.

During Trump's first term, Green tried three times to impeach Trump, once in 2017 and twice in 2019. All efforts failed however, as reported by Houston Public Media.

"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.

Trump's comments about Gaza were met with backlash from Democratic lawmakers, as well as criticism from some Republicans. Maryland Sen. Chris Van Hollen and Michigan Rep. Rashida Tlaib expressed concerns of "ethnic cleansing" with Trump's ideas, while South Carolina Sen. Lindsay Graham, a Republican, called the concept "problematic."