A national group of anti-Trump military veterans is joining forces with the organization founded by Democratic presidential candidate Tom Steyer Tom SteyerTV ads favored Biden 2-1 in past month Inslee calls Biden climate plan 'perfect for the moment' OVERNIGHT ENERGY: Trump administration finalizes plan to open up Alaska wildlife refuge to drilling | California finalizes fuel efficiency deal with five automakers, undercutting Trump | Democrats use vulnerable GOP senators to get rare win on environment MORE in pressing Congress to accelerate efforts to oust the president.



Common Defense, a veterans group founded in 2016 to oppose President Trump Donald John TrumpFederal prosecutor speaks out, says Barr 'has brought shame' on Justice Dept. Former Pence aide: White House staffers discussed Trump refusing to leave office Progressive group buys domain name of Trump's No. 1 Supreme Court pick MORE, is uniting with Steyer's Need To Impeach in an effort to marshal more support for from Democrats on Capitol Hill for impeaching Trump.



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The veterans are highlighting Trump's dealings with Russians, as outlined in the report by former special counsel, as well as his attacks on minorities and approach to ongoing military engagements to argue that Trump is simply unfit to remain commander in chief."We feel that folks who put their lives on the line, particularly those who were combat vets, are just appalled at how Donald Trump's been proceeding and behaving," Jose Vasquez, executive director of Common Defense, told The Hill Friday."If he was a soldier he would definitely be facing a dishonorable discharge at this point."The group, which claims roughly 150,000 supporters, will take its lobbying to Capitol Hill when Congress returns to Washington next month. Vasquez said his organization will target Democrats who are veterans themselves, have large populations of veterans in their districts or sit on crucial committees, particularly the Judiciary panel.Veterans, Vasquez said, "have important stories to share and can be persuasive to sort-of build the kind of support that's necessary."

As part of the effort, the groups this month are launching a digital and local outreach campaign designed to pressure more lawmakers to get on board.



In teaming up with Need To Impeach, Common Defense joins the nation's largest grass-roots impeachment campaign, which was launched in 2017 by Steyer, a billionaire environmentalist and 2020 presidential hopeful, and now has more than 8.3 million signatures on its impeachment petition. Steyer stepped down as the head of the organization when he jumped into the White House race last month.



"We no longer have to wait for any additional evidence," Nathaly Arriola, Need to Impeach's executive director, told The Hill, citing Mueller's testimony before Congress last month.



In its opposition to the president, Common Defense remains a minority voice among veterans, who are older, whiter and overwhelmingly more male than the country at large, according to the Pew Research Center, which cited Census Bureau figures. All are demographics that constitute a bulk of Trump's base, and exit polls conducted by Edison Research found that in 2016 veterans supported Trump over Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton Hillary Diane Rodham ClintonBloomberg rolls out M ad buy to boost Biden in Florida Hillicon Valley: Productivity, fatigue, cybersecurity emerge as top concerns amid pandemic | Facebook critics launch alternative oversight board | Google to temporarily bar election ads after polls close Trump pledges to make Juneteenth a federal holiday, designate KKK a terrorist group in pitch to Black voters MORE by a margin of 60 to 34 percent.

Trump has embraced that support, boasting at campaign rallies and on Twitter of steps he's taken to boost the nation's armed services.



"Best and Newest Military (almost totally rebuilt from the depleted military I took over) in History, Best V.A. in History (Choice), and MUCH, MUCH MORE. Gee, let’s impeach the President," Trump tweeted last month. Impeachment supporters, he added, suffer from "Trump Derangement Syndrome."



"Crazy!" he said.

....Best and Newest Military (almost totally rebuilt from the depleted military I took over) in History, Best V.A. in History (Choice), and MUCH, MUCH MORE. Gee, let’s impeach the President. The “Squad” (AOC Plus 3) and other Dems suffer from Trump Derangement Syndrome. Crazy! — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 23, 2019

Common Defense and other impeachment supporters have a decidedly different view, arguing that some of Trump's actions constitute a clear violation of the military's own standards for determining someone's fitness to serve. Vasquez, a 15-year veteran of the U.S. Army, hammered Trump for, among other things, "breaking the norms around operational security."



"Tweeting things about our withdrawal from Afghanistan, tweeting things about Saudi Arabia and what's going on in Syrian and Yemen. All these things, I think, are just kind of gross misconduct and just really irresponsible on his part," Vasquez said.

"Having been in the military as long as I was, there's a way that you conduct yourself," he continued. "And the way Trump is behaving is just conduct unbecoming of a commander in chief."



Vasquez ticked off the names of several Democrats the group will be targeting next month, including Reps. Elaine Luria Elaine Goodman LuriaKate Schroder in Ohio among Democratic challengers squelching GOP hopes for the House Congress must finish work on popular conservation bill before time runs out Virginians wait up to four hours to cast early voting ballots MORE (Va.), a former Navy commander, and Chrissy Houlahan (Pa.), an Air Force veteran, as well as Katie Hill Katherine (Katie) Lauren HillObama counsels NBA players on forming a social justice committee Republicans cast Trump as best choice for women House GOP campaign chairman insists party will win back majority MORE (Calif.), Cindy Axne Cindy AxneVulnerable Democrats tell Pelosi COVID-19 compromise 'essential' House passes bill to avert shutdown House moves toward spending vote after bipartisan talks MORE (Iowa) and Hakeem Jeffries Hakeem Sekou JeffriesDemocratic leaders: Supreme Court fight is about ObamaCare Pelosi: House will stay in session until agreement is reached on coronavirus relief Races heat up for House leadership posts MORE (N.Y.), the chairman of the House Democratic Caucus.



The new alliance arrives as support for impeachment is steadily growing on Capitol Hill. What was once a small band of pro-impeachment lawmakers has ballooned into a small army of supporters, with scores of Democrats endorsing the movement following the release of Mueller's report and his subsequent appearance before Congress. In all, 122 House Democrats — more than half the caucus — are now on record supporting impeachment in some form, according to a running tally kept by The Hill.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi Nancy PelosiDemocratic senator to party: 'A little message discipline wouldn't kill us' Overnight Health Care: New wave of COVID-19 cases builds in US | Florida to lift all coronavirus restrictions on restaurants, bars | Trump stirs questions with 0 drug coupon plan Overnight Defense: Appeals court revives House lawsuit against military funding for border wall | Dems push for limits on transferring military gear to police | Lawmakers ask for IG probe into Pentagon's use of COVID-19 funds MORE (D-Calif.) has sought for most of the year to defuse the effort, citing the lack of support among both voters and Republicans. While Trump's approval rating has remained underwater for the entirety of his tenure — a new NBC–Wall Street Journal poll, released Sunday, found that 43 percent of voters approve of the president — those figures haven't translated into popular support for impeachment.



A separate survey conducted last month by The Washington Post and ABC News found that 59 percent of voters oppose the launch of impeachment proceedings, while just 37 percent support that strategy.



With Pelosi's support, Rep. Jerrold Nadler Jerrold (Jerry) Lewis NadlerDemocrats shoot down talk of expanding Supreme Court Schumer: 'Nothing is off the table' if GOP moves forward with Ginsburg replacement Top Democrats call for DOJ watchdog to probe Barr over possible 2020 election influence MORE (D-N.Y.), the chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, has increasingly ramped up the impeachment rhetoric as he seeks to secure disputed documents and witness testimony related to Mueller's probe. This month, he said his panel has already launched "formal impeachment proceedings."



The pro-impeachment groups have welcomed that shift, arguing the importance of allowing voters to see and hear from the various figures in Trump's orbit who played a role in Mueller's probe. But the activists are also pressing Democrats to take a long step forward by launching a formal impeachment inquiry.



"We do want an impeachment vote," said Arriola, who previously served in the Obama administration.



Pelosi is also fighting to retain control of the House, which Democrats won in 2018 on the wings of moderate lawmakers who flipped Republican seats in conservative-leaning districts where an aggressive impeachment push could alienate some voters — and sink the Democrats' chances of reelection next year.



Arriola, however, described that argument as "a stall tactic."



"We believe that doing the right thing will mobilize the voters, and protecting our democracy is what we elected members of Congress [to do]," she said. "So from our perspective, that's definitely a false argument."



Vasquez delivered a similar message.



"I understand their concern, but I also think our democracy is hanging in the balance here," he said.



"I don't want to accept that what Trump is doing is the new normal."

Updated at 9:10 a.m.