Claiming that he has repeatedly “violated his oath of office,” Republican South Dakota lawmakers passed a resolution Saturday to impeach President Barack Obama, according to the Sioux Falls Argus Leader.
Specifically, the site says, the resolution cites the trade of five Taliban detainees for U.S. Army soldier Bowe Bergdahl, as well as the president’s oft-criticized campaign promise that people would be able to keep their existing health insurance under the Affordable Care Act and a recent Environmental Protection Agency proposal that would curb emissions from coal-power plants. The state is home to one of the largest coal-burning power plants.
“Therefore, be it resolved that the South Dakota Republican Party calls on our U.S. Representatives to initiate impeachment proceedings against the president of the United States,” the resolution reads, according to the Argus Leader.
Delegates at the party’s annual convention in Rapid City, S.D., voted 191-176 in favor of the resolution.
Allen Unruh of Sioux Falls, S.D., sponsored the resolution, the report says. “I’ve got a thick book on impeachable offenses of the president,” Unruh reportedly said, calling on South Dakota to “send a symbolic message that liberty shall be the law of the land.”
On the other hand, David Wheeler of Beadle County, S.D., disagreed.
“I believe we should not use the power of impeachment for political purposes,” Wheeler said, according to the report. “By doing this, we would look petty, like we can’t achieve our political goals through the political process.”
The South Dakota lawmakers apparently are not alone. Rep. Lou Barletta (R-Pa.) argued last week that the House could “probably” impeach Obama if immigration reform was brought to the floor for a vote, the Huffington Post reports.
Read more at the Sioux Falls Argus Leader.