One undeniably ironic thing is that Donald Trump may have done more that’s impeachable in the first 100 days of his second presidency than what he did that led to either of his first two impeachments.
After all, the impeachment resolution introduced earlier this week by Rep. Shri Thanedar (D-MI), includes seven separate articles of impeachment, all pointing at things that have happened since Trump returned to office.
But while the two impeachments both passed the House during Trump’s first presidency, that’s not likely to happen now, mostly because Republicans continue to control Congress.
Impeachment III?
New York magazine’s El Kilgore looked at that dichotomy in a piece published Friday, beginning by stating that under House Speaker Mike Johnson, the current House is “less likely to entertain an impeachment resolution than to petition Canada to make the U.S. its 11th province.”
But Sen. Jon Ossoff (D-GA) said at a town hall last week that impeachment should be on the table if Democrats manage to flip the House in 2026. It’s notable, the author notes, that a Democrat running for re-election in a swing state, in what is likely going to be a tough race, thinks talking about impeachment is a political winner.
As Kilgore notes, Thanedar’s impeachment push seems motivated at least in part by the Congressman facing multiple primary challenges in his district.
And the analysis states that while neither of the causes of the first two impeachments — the proposed quid pro quo with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to investigate Joe Biden, and later the January 6 insurrection — was exactly a minor infraction, the case for impeachment, on its merits, is likely stronger this time around.
“Trump’s 2025 abuses of power, lawless actions against his perceived enemies, and unconstitutional power grabs are as wide-ranging as the Ukraine brouhaha was narrow,” Kilgore says. “And there is zero doubt about the president’s responsibility for these outrages since most of them stem from executive orders he signed.”
Ossoff, in his speech, referred specifically to Trump’s recently announced gambit in which he is granting a dinner to the largest holders of his memecoin.
“When the sitting president of the United States is selling access for what are effectively payments directly to him,” the senator said, “there is no question that that rises to the level of an impeachable offense.”
Another senator, Sen. Chris Murphy (D-CT), went even further in an X post:
“This isn’t Trump just being Trump. The Trump coin scam is the most brazenly corrupt thing a President has ever done. Not close.”
After all, Republicans spent roughly half of Joe Biden’s term probing the foreign financial ties of his son and other family members, without ever uncovering any financial improprieties by the then-president himself.
But Is It a Good Idea?
The question to ask is whether a third impeachment will help in any way. After all, Democrats will likely have trouble even earning a Senate majority in 2026, much less a large enough cushion to have any hope of convicting and removing Trump from office.
And if they can’t do that, what’s the point? The first two impeachments were certainly embarrassing for Trump, as were his criminal indictments and convictions.
But what none of that did was eliminate Trump’s political power, or prevent him from earning the presidency again. There are signs that all of it helped him. Beyond that, there are indications that the 2026 midterms could serve as a referendum on whether or not Trump faces another impeachment, which could serve to rev up the GOP base.
“In the end, of course, even if Democrats do control the House in 2027, they have to decide whether it’s worth the trouble to impeach Trump a third time knowing that he will almost certainly be acquitted yet again owing to the two-thirds requirement for conviction in Senate impeachment trials,” Kilgore writes.
About the Author:
Stephen Silver is an award-winning journalist, essayist and film critic, and contributor to the Philadelphia Inquirer, the Jewish Telegraphic Agency, Broad Street Review and Splice Today. The co-founder of the Philadelphia Film Critics Circle, Stephen lives in suburban Philadelphia with his wife and two sons. For over a decade, Stephen has authored thousands of articles that focus on politics, technology, and the economy. Follow him on X (formerly Twitter) at @StephenSilver, and subscribe to his Substack newsletter.
Could Trump Get Impeached?
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