Donald Trump was, as everyone remembers, impeached twice during his first term as president, both of them after Democrats took control of the House in the 2018 midterm elections.
Neither of those impeachments resulted in Trump being removed from office, nor did they prevent Trump from returning to office for a second term.
President Donald Trump participates in the swearing-in ceremony for Administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services Mehmet Oz, Friday, April 18, 2025, in the Oval Office. (Official White House Photo by Molly Riley)
Donald Trump speaking with supporters at a campaign rally at Veterans Memorial Coliseum at the Arizona State Fairgrounds in Phoenix, Arizona. Credit: Gage Skidmore.
And now, with Democrats poised to gain control of Congress in the midterm elections next month, the question has been raised over whether they might attempt to impeach Trump a third time.
The Speaker Speaks
Trump himself has said multiple times, including last week, that the Democrats will impeach him if they win back control of Congress. The president, at a rally last week, even called on Democrats to go that route again, stating that “I’ve become very good at beating them in impeachment.”
Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson also predicted this week, per The Hill, that a Democratic majority will impeach Trump immediately.
“It’s guaranteed, probably on the first day — first or second day,” Johnson said in an interview with Scott Jennings. Johnson pointed to articles of impeachment Democrats have already introduced in the current Congress.
This is somewhat misleading, however. A handful of times in this Congress, Democrats, such as Rep. Steve Cohen (D-TN), Rep. Shri Thenadar (D-MI) and Rep. Al Green (D-TX), have introduced articles of impeachment against Trump.
None of those efforts have gone anywhere, mostly because Democrats don’t currently hold the House majority and cannot move legislation forward. Also, in the current Congress, Democratic leadership has not supported the impeachment efforts. In spring 2025, when Thenadar made his impeachment push, House Democratic leadership, led by House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, was “blindsided,” as CNN reported, and ultimately convinced Thenadar to drop the matter.
Democratic leadership has not supported the impeachment efforts; Jeffries will likely be speaker if Democrats win the House. Also, neither Cohen, Thenadar, nor Green will be part of the next Congress, as Cohen retired after redistricting, and Thenadar and Green both lost Democratic primaries.
What Will Democrats Do?
On Friday, Axios examined whether Democrats will actually pursue impeachment. While Democrats believe that Trump has unquestionably committed impeachable offenses, they’re divided on whether to pursue another impeachment process. So, contrary to Johnson’s claims, they’re unlikely to make a new impeachment push their top priority in the next Congress.
Democrats know, per the Axios story, that an impeachment push is unlikely to remove Trump from office because they won’t have a two-thirds Senate majority.
Impeachment or not, Democrats, with newfound subpoena power, will likely launch committee investigations of various Trump actions and scandals.
Rep. Jamie Raskin, an impeachment manager in Trump’s second impeachment after the January 6 riot, told Axios that the Democrats believe the president has committed impeachable offenses but that he and other Democrats are “very sober about what that two-thirds requirement means on the Senate side.”
“It is not a fetish with us,” Raskin said of the idea of impeachment. “On the other hand, it’s definitely not a taboo.”
It’s not clear which of the many acts of Trump’s first two terms would form the basis of an impeachment inquiry. Cohen’s resolution last month consisted of 26 articles of impeachment, covering everything from waging war without Congressional approval to sowing doubt in elections, disobeying court orders, and coercing media outlets.
A Democratic Divide
The report said some more progressive Democrats, like Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) and Rep. Ro Khanna (D-CA), both rumored as possible 2028 presidential candidates, favor pursuing impeachment. However, that wing is unlikely to make that call, as it won’t be in the leadership of a new Democratic House majority.
Axios also quoted administration officials as stating that Trump would welcome a new impeachment effort, with one official stating that a third impeachment would “just prove Democrats are all about getting Trump, and this stuff about affordability is just a hoax.”
The 2028 presidential primary will also likely become a consideration, with the chance that Democratic primary voters would look more kindly on candidates who they saw as fighting Trump harder.
About the Author: Stephen Silver
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, national security, technology, and the economy. Follow him on X (formerly Twitter) at @StephenSilver, and subscribe to his Substack newsletter.
