New Democratic congresswoman Rashida Tlaib makes profane vow about Trump
A new Democratic congresswoman is getting pushback from her colleagues over an obscene promise she made about President Trump.
New Michigan Rep. Rashida Tlaib — one of a new crop of Democrats sworn into Congress on Thursday — didn’t waste any time assailing President Donald Trump.
Speaking to a crowd at a reception on Capitol Hill Thursday night held by the progressive group MoveOn, Tlaib called for Trump’s impeachment in a fiery rant that included profane language you don’t often hear from a member of Congress.
“People love you and you win. And when your son looks at you and says, 'Momma, look you won. Bullies don’t win,’ “ Tlaib told the crowd of supporters. “And I said, ‘Baby, they don’t, because we’re gonna go in there and we’re gonna impeach the [expletive].’ “
Watch (warning: profane language):
Rep. Jerry Nadler, D-N.Y., one of Tlaib’s new colleagues in the House, pushed back on her comments during an interview on CNN Friday morning.
“I don’t really like that kind-of language,” Nadler said. “More to the point, I disagree with what she said. It is too early to talk about [impeachment] intelligently… We have to get the facts, and we’ll see where the facts lead.”
Tlaib unapologetically stood by her comments on Twitter Friday morning.
“Generationally, that would not be language I would use, but nonetheless, I don’t think we should make a big deal of it," newly elected Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi said during an MSNBC town hall Friday morning, adding it was not her job to censor her colleagues’ language.
“I don’t think it’s anything worse than what the president has said,” the California Democrat added.
Tlaib — one of the first two Muslims ever elected to Congress — also co-authored an op-ed with Trump impeachment advocate John Bonifaz for the Detroit Free Press, in which she outlined her case for Trump’s impeachment.
“President Donald Trump is a direct and serious threat to our country. On an almost daily basis, he attacks our Constitution, our democracy, the rule of law and the people who are in this country,” Tlaib wrote. “His conduct has created a constitutional crisis that we must confront now.”
On Thursday, Rep. Brad Sherman, D-Calif., re-introduced articles of impeachment against Trump, which he had originally filed back in 2017. At the time, 58 Democrats voted in favor of the resolution in the House, which was controlled at the time by Republicans. The measure ultimately failed 364-58.
Pelosi told USA Today on Thursday that she would consider taking up articles of impeachment only if they had “clearly bipartisan” support. But she also didn’t rule it out.
“The facts will indicate a path and I don’t think we should impeach a president for any political reason, but I don’t think we can ignore any behavior that requires attention and that was all based on the facts,” Pelosi said.