Thanedar's Trump impeachment move flounders as some co-sponsors withdraw support

INDIAN-AMERICAN Congressman Shri Thanedar's efforts to impeach US president Donald Trump have run into rough weather with some of the House Democrats distancing themselves after they came to know that it has not been vetted by the party leadership.

The Michigan Congressman, who hails from Karnataka, had introduced seven articles accusing Trump of obstruction of justice, abuse of power, usurpation of power, bribery and corruption.

Three Democrats Kweisi Mfume (Maryland), Robin Kelly (Illinois) and Jerry Nadler (New York), who had earlier signed as co-sponsors, withdrew after they realized it had not been reviewed by the party leadership.

They later approached the House floor and requested that their names be taken off the legislation.

Thanedar, however, has decided to stand his ground and said that while he respects the decision of his party colleagues, he is firm on going ahead with the impeachment efforts because Trump has violated the US constitution.

He claimed that he had drafted the articles himself and hoped that more would come on board.

Thanedar thanked Al Green for his support and co-sponsorship.

The Democratic Party chief in the Congress, Peta Aguilar, said this exercise is bound to be futile as Republicans fully control the House of Representatives.

Trump reaction

Trump called Thanedar a 'lunatic' and claimed he had never heard of him. He even wondered whether he was a Congressman.

Trump supporter and MAGA activist Laura Loomer claimed that Thanedar was facing $800,000 in campaign debt and had moved the impeachment motion to pay them off.

She claimed her Indian-American friends told her that Thanedar was an "embarrassment" to the community, and wondered how he made it to Congress.

Spat with Dinesh D'Souza

Earlier, Thanedar got into a social media spat with Indian-American right-wing commentator Dinesh D'Souza, who suggested that if Thanedar had remained in India, he would still be a municipal clerk or waiter.

D'Souza claimed Thanedar thrives in the US because of “diversity”, and his broken English and "semi-illiterate solecisms are seen as positive traits".

In response, Thanedar said in a post on X, "I did grow up in India. My dad was a clerk. Then I found my American Dream. Now I'm helping many other Americans achieve their dreams."

He also took a dig at D'Souza's past legal cases, saying, "If you need help recovering from your felony, please let me know. Happy to help."