Florida – Trump recently made open threats to the current U.S. president, Joe Biden. Former President Donald Trump has issued a stark warning that President Joe Biden and his family could face numerous criminal prosecutions after Biden leaves office unless the Supreme Court grants Trump immunity in his current legal battles. Trump directly linked his threat to appoint a special prosecutor to investigate the Biden family to the outcome of a Supreme Court case involving his own immunity. Several days later, a GOP member from Florida followed their presumptive presidential nominee’s “lead” and made another “threat” towards Biden.
Florida Republican Seeks to Return the Favor
Just five years ago, House Democrats impeached former President Donald Trump for threatening to withhold military aid from Ukraine unless President Volodymyr Zelenskyy investigated Joe and Hunter Biden for corruption. Now, with Joe Biden in the White House, a Florida Republican seeks to return the favor.
Impeachment Plans Over Aid to Israel
Florida GOP Rep. Cory Mills announced his intention to draft an impeachment resolution against President Biden for his refusal to send certain military aid to Israel as it battles radical Hamas militants. According to a report by the Tampa Free Press, Israeli officials claimed Biden threatened to cut off arms deliveries if Israel’s army invaded the southern Gaza city of Rafah. Rafah is the last stronghold of Hamas forces and the site where more than 1 million Palestinians have been displaced due to the ongoing conflict.
Biden confirmed the decision on Wednesday, just days after agreeing to provide Israel with military aid in a $26 billion package. On Thursday, Mills, a New Smyrna Beach Republican, declared he would seek Biden’s impeachment for undermining a key U.S. ally. Mills’ resolution accuses Biden of abuse of power, stating, “Using the powers of his high office, President Biden solicited a ‘quid pro quo’ with the foreign government of Israel by withholding precision guided weapons shipments in order to try and extract military policy changes.”
Mills further elaborated, “These types of actions are what President Trump was accused of and impeached over by Democrats. They called it ‘Quid Pro Quo.’ Perhaps [it] should be renamed to ‘Quid Pro Joe.’” Mills said, “These are the same accusations made against President Trump, which resulted in his impeachment by Democrats. The same must happen for Joe Biden, which is why we’re drawing up articles of impeachment now.”
House GOP member, Cory Mills, drafting Biden impeachment articles over “Quid Pro Joe”. https://t.co/3FydLtRUb8
— Cory Mills (@CoryMillsFL) May 9, 2024
Republican Support for Impeachment
Other Republicans seem to support Mills’ stance. Arkansas Sen. Tom Cotton posted on X, “The House has no choice but to impeach Biden based on the Trump-Ukraine precedent of withholding foreign aid to help with reelection. Only with Biden, it’s true.”
The House has no choice but to impeach Biden based on the Trump-Ukraine precedent of withholding foreign aid to help with reelection. Only with Biden, it’s true.
— Tom Cotton (@SenTomCotton) May 9, 2024
Biden’s Decision and Its Implications
President Biden announced Wednesday that he would withhold certain weapons from Israel if the country proceeds with an invasion of Rafah. This decision has sparked outrage among many supporters of Israel, including congressional Republicans like Mills. “Biden is threatening our ally Israel after funding approvals in Congress if they do not stop operations to target Hamas,” Mills posted on X.
The decision by Mills, a first-term U.S. representative whose district includes Seminole and parts of Volusia counties, was first reported by Fox News. A call to Mills’ congressional office requesting comment was not immediately returned Thursday evening.
Democrats previously moved to impeach Donald Trump in 2019 for allegedly pressuring the Ukrainian government to investigate Biden, then a potential political opponent. Trump withheld nearly $400 million in aid from Ukraine on the condition that officials in that country investigate Biden, according to Democratic allegations. The Government Accountability Office, a nonpartisan watchdog, stated that withholding the money violated the law. The Democratic-led House of Representatives impeached Trump, but the U.S. Senate did not vote to convict him.
Allegations and Administration’s Defense
Mills alleges that Biden’s withholding of certain weapons in exchange for Israel changing its military tactics constitutes a quid pro quo, according to a draft of the impeachment resolution that Mills plans to file to House attorneys on Friday. Administration officials have argued that Israel conducting a widespread bombing campaign in Rafah, where hundreds of thousands of Palestinians are sheltering, would do little to advance Israel’s goal of destroying Hamas. “Smashing into Rafah, in [Biden’s] view, will not advance that objective, will not get to that sustainable and enduring defeat of Hamas,” White House spokesperson John Kirby said Thursday, according to the New York Times.
Earlier this week, officials announced they would hold off on sending 3,500 bombs to America’s ally in the Middle East. Regardless of the munitions being withheld by the Biden administration, Israel will likely have enough weapons to invade Rafah, according to the New York Times.
Context and Consequences
More than 34,000 people have died in Gaza since Israel launched its war on Hamas last fall. The campaign came in response to the Oct. 7 Hamas attacks on Israel that left nearly 1,200 dead and hundreds more captured as hostages. This complex and volatile situation continues to evolve, with significant political and humanitarian implications for all parties involved.
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The unfolding events underscore the contentious and often polarized nature of U.S. foreign policy and domestic political responses, particularly concerning the enduring conflict in the Middle East. As the debate over President Biden’s decisions and Rep. Mills’ impeachment resolution progresses, the focus remains on the impact of these actions on both international relations and the lives of those affected by the conflict.
