‘Enough’: It took the threat of mass extinction, but Hakeem Jeffries finally musters the courage to speak up

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries took to X to urge Congress to immediately end what he called a “reckless war of choice in Iran,” warning that President Donald Trump could drag the country into World War III. This came after Trump posted on Truth Social, threatening to wipe out Iranian civilization. Trump ultimately did not follow through, agreeing instead to a two-week ceasefire with Iran.

Jeffries wrote, “Congress must immediately end this reckless war of choice in Iran before Donald Trump plunges us into World War III. It’s time for every single Republican to put patriotic duty over party and stop the madness. Enough.” However, Jeffries himself had previously stopped short of calling for Trump’s removal, even as many fellow Democrats did so openly, according to The Hill.

Trump’s Tuesday morning Truth Social post warned that “a whole civilization will die tonight, never to be brought back again” if Iran failed to meet his demands before an 8:00 PM EDT deadline for Tehran to reopen the Strait of Hormuz. This followed earlier threats over the weekend about attacking Iranian bridges and power plants, which some international experts said could amount to war crimes.

Democrats calling for Trump’s removal showed the depth of concern in the party

Several Democratic lawmakers responded by calling for Trump to be removed from office. Rep. Diana DeGette (D-Colo.) posted, “Donald Trump is openly threatening war crimes against the entirety of Iranian civilization. 25th Amendment proceedings must begin immediately, but if the Cabinet is too cowardly, the House should begin the impeachment process now.” 

Sen. Ed Markey (D-Mass.) called Trump’s post “completely unstable and perilous,” adding, “The House must bring up impeachment articles, and the Senate needs to remove a president who wants to commit war crimes. We cannot sit idly by as Donald Trump threatens to end an entire civilization.”

Other lawmakers echoed this. Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.) stated, “After bombing a school and massacring young girls, the war criminal in the White House is threatening genocide. It’s time to invoke the 25th Amendment.” 

Rep. Melanie Stansbury (D-N.M.) said, “This is why the 25th Amendment and impeachment were created. These aren’t policy differences. He is threatening crimes. It’s time to invoke the 25th.” Rep. Ayanna Pressley (D-Mass.) called it a “horrifying threat of genocidal war crimes” and urged Congress to “stop this war and remove Trump from the White House.”

The White House dismissed these calls. Spokesperson Davis Ingle said, “Democrats have been talking about removing President Trump since before he was even sworn into office. The Democrats in Congress are deranged, weak, and ineffective, which is why their approval ratings are at historic lows.” Meanwhile, Trump’s handling of the Iran conflict has been spiralling out of control, even as the president remained focused on other priorities.

However, the House Democrats chose not to force a vote last month on a resolution to block Trump from waging war with Iran unilaterally, citing concerns they did not have enough votes to pass it.  According to Axios, Rep. Delia Ramirez (D-Ill.) admitted there is “absolutely” frustration among left-leaning lawmakers over this. 

Andrew O’Neill of the progressive group Indivisible said, “Democrats should absolutely be forcing Republicans to vote on stopping this war as urgently as possible.” A similar resolution had already failed earlier in March in a 212-219 vote, with four Democrats voting against it. Since then, Democrats have worked to bring those members on board, and most are now reportedly aligned. Rep. Nancy Mace (R-S.C.) has said she will “most likely” vote with Democrats next time. 

But remaining holdouts and absences are still giving leadership pause. A senior House Democrat put it plainly: “Everyone’s freaked out, but we didn’t have the people here to pass it. … No point in bringing up a resolution that’s going to fail because we have an attendance problem.”

Democrats are also trying to bring more Republicans over. Jeffries has previously called out the GOP’s months-long political struggles, and that pressure continues as the party works to peel off more Republican votes on the war powers resolution. Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.) is working with Rep. Thomas Massie to find GOP members who might flip, suggesting there are “five or six” who are “on the fence.” 

House Minority Whip Katherine Clark (D-Mass.) explained, “We can’t win this, procedurally, every day. So we are holding that option until we can pass it or events turn and we can get more Republicans to join us.” It is worth noting that even if a war powers resolution passed both chambers, Trump could veto it. 

But a successful House vote would still serve as a strong rebuke. Paco Fabian of Our Revolution warned, “If Dems say they oppose the war but won’t force a vote, it reinforces the sense they’re not willing to use their power when it counts.”