Dem
47
GOP
53
For the last couple of weeks, Rep. Shri Thanedar (D-MI) has been on a one-man crusade to impeach Donald Trump. His explanation: "It's never the wrong time to stand up for our Constitution."
The rest of the House Democratic Caucus has been working overtime, using every trick in the book, to try to persuade Thanedar that now is not the time. First, the blue team wants the focus right now to be on the Republicans' budget bill, and the cuts to Medicaid, and an impeachment would create a distraction. Second, as you may have heard, the Democrats don't control the House or the Senate right now, so an impeachment vote would surely fail, while at the same time making the whole thing look like a cheap political trick.
And the truth is, it would be a cheap political trick. Thanedar got very interested in impeachment about 5 minutes after he learned he would face a primary challenge from state Representative Donavan McKinney. And House rules do allow for any member to make a motion privileged, forcing a vote within 2 days. This is one of Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene's (R-GA) favorite little loopholes.
Thanedar moved forward with the various steps in the process, such that it appeared there would be a vote yesterday. However, at the last moment, he backed down, explaining: "After talking with many colleagues, I have decided not to force a vote on impeachment today. Instead, I will add to my articles of impeachment and continue to rally the support of both Democrats and Republicans to defend the Constitution with me." It's not clear what changed his mind—carrots, or sticks, or both. The most probable explanation is that many Democrats were planning to vote against the measure, which would have left Thanedar with egg on his face. It is true that many Democrats don't particularly want to cast a vote that protects Trump, but sometimes a politician has to make the best of a bad situation, and it's also true that a "nay" vote now would lay the groundwork for arguing, after a future "yea" vote, that members actually consider the merits of the case, and don't just vote reflexively for impeachment.
And make no mistake, impeachment v3.0 is a near certainty, at some point. The Democrats may want to wait until Trump's support further erodes and there may be a few GOP votes available (like a Justin Amash or a Liz Cheney), or until sometime much closer to the election, or maybe until they are in the majority, which they expect to be as of Jan. 3, 2027. In that case, they would actually be able to impeach Trump, as opposed to just being voted down by Republicans. And if they somehow retake the Senate, as well, then they could also get an actual hearing, even if a conviction is not gonna happen.
But you never know. If the Democrats control the Senate on Jan. 3, 2027 (unlikely, but possible), they could hold an extensive trial with many witnesses, including respected former judges appointed by Republican presidents. The goal would be to convince the public that Trump broke the law many times and abused his power repeatedly. If they were able to convince 70% of the voters that Trump was a criminal and should be convicted, the senators up in 2028 would be faced with a very difficult vote. (Z)