"I hate it": Infuriated Democrats help GOP quash another Trump impeachment vote

Nearly two dozen House Democrats voted with Republicans on Thursday to block one of their own members from forcing a vote to impeach President Trump.Why it matters: The vote enraged Democrats, many of whom despise the increasingly caustic use of impeachment as a political tool but don't want to be seen as supporting Trump's actions and risk angering the party base."I hate it," one senior House Democrat told Axios on the condition of anonymity to speak candidly about a sensitive vote."This is not a team effort," another House Democrat told Axios. "It puts us in a difficult position."State of play: The vote was forced by Rep. Al Green (D-Texas), who said in a House floor speech Thursday morning that Trump is "an abuser of presidential power."Green pointed to Trump saying last month that a video of House Democrats urging military service members to disobey unlawful orders was "SEDITIOUS BEHAVIOR, punishable by DEATH."House Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-La.) then introduced a motion to "table," or essentially kill, Green's impeachment motion. By the numbers: The House voted 237 to 140 in favor of Scalise's motion, with 23 Democrats joining 214 Republicans in support of it.Another 47 Democrats voted "present" on Scalise's motion, with several switching from "yes" to "present" just before the vote was closed.Yes, but: The vote represents a significant shift from June, when 128 Democrats voted to table another of Green's impeachment motions and just 79 sided with him.House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.), Whip Katherine Clark (D-Mass.) and Democratic caucus chair Pete Aguilar (D-Calif.) all shifted from voting to table in June to voting "present" on Thursday.So did Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee chair Suzan DelBene (D-Wash.), former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and former House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Md.).Zoom out: More and more Democrats have turned to impeachment as their preferred tool for going after Trump and his Cabinet officials.Just in the last week and a half, Democrats introduced articles of impeachment against Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.Another Democrat is pushing for the House Judiciary Committee to begin impeachment proceedings against Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem.What they're saying: "I think Trump has committed a number of impeachable offenses, but the impeachment process needs to be preceded by investigation, deliberation, a lot more process," said Rep. James Walkinshaw (D-Va.), who voted "present" on the motion.Walkinshaw added that Republicans, who control both chambers of Congress, "have shown that they're not willing to hold Trump accountable, I don't think they're going to change their perspective.""We're going to have to beat him at the ballot box in November 2026," he said.Editor's note: This article has been corrected to note Democrats said service members could disobey unlawful orders (not lawful orders).