Democrats on Capitol Hill have had no discussions about impeaching President Donald Trump if they take back the House of Representatives in the November midterms, several lawmakers told Punchbowl News.
With most polls indicating Democrats have a lead in the upcoming midterms, some have questioned whether liberal lawmakers will initiate inquiries into the president, specifically related to his decision to start a war in the Middle East without permission from Congress.
“Literally no Democrats are talking about this,” Rep. Pete Aguilar, the House Democratic Caucus Chair, told Punchbowl. “This is not something that comes up in our discussions at all.”
Rep. Susie Lee told the news outlet, “We have bigger priorities to focus on.”
“When is it productive to take votes on this, and when is it productive for us to be out in the court of public opinion?” Rep. Greg Casar, the chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, said.
While lawmakers may not be formally discussing it, anti-Trump voters have called for his impeachment over his strikes against Iran, the capture of now-deposed Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro and his handling of the Epstein files.
Impeachment is a powerful tool that can rally international attention to an issue. But it’s also a divisive move that is unpopular with large swaths of voters, according to Gallup polling.
Rep. Henry Cuellar told Punchbowl that moving forward with impeachment risks “firing up” Trump’s MAGA base.
“We’ve seen this twice already. To do it a third time won’t work,” Cuellar said.
After reclaiming the House in November 2018, Democrats launched inquiries into the president’s actions. Eventually, in December 2019, Trump was impeached in the lower chamber of Congress on abuse of power and obstruction of Congress.
Trump’s first impeachment stemmed from an investigation into Russian interference in the 2020 election that reported Trump attempted to influence Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to launch an investigation into former President Joe Biden.
The House impeached Trump for a second time in January 2021, after the attack on the Capitol.
Both times, the Senate voted to acquit Trump. A two-thirds majority is required in the Senate to convict in an impeachment trial.
“The reality is we know that Trump, regardless of any impeachment vote, is not going to get convicted by the Senate,” Rep. Robert Garcia, the ranking Democrat on the House Oversight Committee, told Punchbowl.
Earlier this month, Rep. Jamie Raskin, the ranking Democrat on the House Judiciary Committee, told CNBC that while Democrats are “not afraid of impeachment,” it cannot be used as a “panacea.”
“If we think that this will be the most effective way to address some of the crises of the republic that have been unleashed by President Trump or particular members of his Cabinet, then it will have to be considered,” Raskin said.
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