For the first time since Congress passed the War Powers Resolution in 1973, the Senate has invoked its war powers to end an unconstitutional war when it passed the Bernie Sanders – Mike Lee – Chris Murphy Yemen War Powers Resolution. The House is expected to pass the Senate bill.

But Trump has threatened to veto the bill.

If Trump vetoes the bill and continues the war, and Congress does not enforce its will, that could be the end of the road for invoking the War Powers Resolution to try to end unconstitutional wars, now and in the future. We might have to retire the project of trying to end unconstitutional wars by lobbying Congress. We might have to forget about Congressional letters, Congressional briefings, questions for Congressional hearings. It might all be Kabuki.

There’s only one threat left in the escalation ladder higher than invoking the War Powers Resolution, and that’s the threat of impeachment. No President, not even Trump, wants to be the third President in U.S. history to get impeached, even if it does not lead to his removal from office. No President, not even Trump, wants to face a vote in the House on impeachment that they think they might lose.

Under the Constitution, impeachment is a power of the House alone, and it requires a simple majority. Because it concerns the Constitutional privileges of the House, an article of impeachment is privileged and must go to the floor if the sponsor insists. It cannot be blocked from consideration on the floor by the House leadership.

There’s only one jury on Earth right now that gets to decide whether continuing unconstitutional U.S. participation in the Saudi war in Yemen after Congress has voted against it is an “impeachable offense”: House Democrats. If we want to have a credible threat on Trump to force him to end the war, we need to move that jury.

Urge your Representative to threaten Trump with impeachment if he doesn’t end the Yemen war by signing our petition.