Rep. Steve King (R-Iowa) couldn't seem to decide his position on whether President Barack Obama should be impeached in an appearance Wednesday morning on CNN.
"I am not pushing impeachment," King said, when "New Day" host Chris Cuomo noted that the lawmaker has been threatening to do so if the president signs an executive order to grant amnesty to the tens of thousands of undocumented minors who have been attempting to the cross the U.S.-Mexico border.
King clarified by saying he's "trying to deter the president from violating the Constitution."
"You have suggested impeachment," Cuomo said.
King replied: "I have said that if the president continues to violate the Constitution, if he should -- with the stroke of his pen, as he's threatening to do, floating his trial balloons this last week -- should decide that he's going to grant amnesty in a lawless way, we've all taken an oath to uphold the Constitution. And I wouldn't want some member of Congress that would say whatever the president does, no matter how bad it is, we're not going to use the constitutional obligation."
"But you pushed impeachment," Cuomo interrupted him. "But, look, the Article II is pretty clear. This isn't treason, bribery or other high crimes and misdemeanors. You're playing politics with impeachment."
"Congress defines high crimes and misdemeanors," King replied.
Watch the exchange above.
King talked about impeachment for Obama over the weekend when he told Brietbart News, "From my standpoint, if the president [enacts more executive actions], we need to bring impeachment hearings immediately before the House of Representatives."
And King suggested in a Newsmax TV interview Tuesday that the president is daring Congress to impeach him.
The congressman also discussed the procedure in 2011 when he said the president "would be impeached if he blocked debt payments," causing the U.S. to default on its debt.
Former GOP vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin sparked impeachment talk when she began calling for it earlier this month. But House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) has said he is against the idea.
This week, Boehner said impeachment talk is a "scam" being pushed by Democrats who are "trying to rally their people to give money and show up in this year's elections."
However, as HuffPost's Michael McAuliff has reported, other Republicans have raised the idea of impeachment. Incoming House Majority Whip Steve Scalise (La.) would not rule out impeachment this past weekend. Others who have mentioned it include Rep. Jason Chaffetz (Utah), Sen. James Inhofe (Okla.), Rep. Blake Farenthold (Texas), Rep. Ted Yoho (Fla.), Rep. Lou Barletta (Pa.), Rep. Steve Stockman (Texas) and Rep. Kerry Bentivolio (Mich.).
h/t ThinkProgress
Before You Go
