After Democrats crushed Republicans in the U.S. midterms, President Donald Trump threatened that an attempt to impeach him a third time would “destroy” the Democrats.
Donald Trump is no stranger to impeachment, having survived two attempts to remove him from office during his first term, and he has previously joked about his experience fighting them.
“I’m getting good at it,” the POTUS told reporters in October.
Twice impeached
His first impeachment came in 2019 over allegations that he pressured Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to investigate Joe Biden’s son Hunter and his business acrivities in Kyiv while withholding approved military assistance. The Senate acquitted him, but his victory was short-lived.
Following the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol by his supporters, Trump became the first American president to be impeached twice. Once again, the Senate acquitted him.
Now, the Nov. 3 midterms have shifted the balance of power in Washington, with Democrats wresting control of both the House and Senate from Republicans and gaining the authority to investigate Trump and his administration.
Whether they’ll use that power to pursue a third impeachment, however, remains an open question.
‘Haven’t ruled anything out’
Hakeem Jeffries, expected to become House speaker, has refused to commit either way.
“We haven’t ruled anything in, and we haven’t ruled anything out,” Jeffries said when questioned about impeachment.
Ohio Senator-elect Sherrod Brown took a firmer position during his campaign.
“I can’t speak for everybody else but I would not support an impeachment of Trump. There’s just simply no reason for that, no matter what happens in the midterms,” the Democrat said.
Even with their Senate gains, Democrats would need a two-thirds majority to convict Trump, making another impeachment a potentially costly political gamble.
‘Commits impeachable offences’ every day
“Impeaching Trump is a bad idea,” Matt Bennett, co-founder of the centrist Democratic think tank Third Way, said, per the Independent. “I want to be clear that we believe that Trump commits five impeachable offences before breakfast every morning. So, this is not a question of his culpability.”
“This is a question of political reality, and the reality is there’s literally zero chance that he will be removed from office unless he does something even more egregious,” Bennett added.
‘Lawyer up’
While some Democrats are urging caution, others appear ready to confront the White House.
California Representative Robert Garcia, poised to lead the House Oversight Committee, wasted little time sending a message following the Democratic victory.
“Hey, White House: LAWYER UP,” he wrote on X, raising the prospect of congressional investigations even if impeachment never reaches a vote.
Trump ‘not even a little bit’ concerned
And Trump has made it clear he isn’t intimidated by the possibility of another showdown.
Asked November 4 whether he feared being impeached again, the president dismissed the idea before delivering a warning to his political rivals.
“Not even a little bit. I think it would destroy the Democrat party if they did that,” he said, according to the Independent.
“Impeachment for no reason, what for having a successful country? Our country is more successful now than at any time in its history,” the POTUS added.
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