After midterm gains, Democrats weigh another chance to impeach Trump—and whether to take it

Midterm results shift the balance

The Republican Party lost its majorities in the House of Representatives and Senate in Tuesday’s midterms, as voters expressed anger at the party, the article says. Trump conceded defeat, criticized some Republican candidates and media allies, and faced the prospect of a Democrat-run legislature for the final two years of his second term.

Democrats are expected to use congressional committees to investigate Trump and people close to him. The election result may give them a stronger basis to pursue those inquiries, though it does not settle whether they will seek to remove him from office.

A history of two impeachments

The House impeached Trump in 2019 after a whistleblower said he threatened to withhold $400 million in approved military aid to Ukraine unless its president investigated Joe Biden’s son, Hunter. The Senate acquitted Trump.

Democrats weigh their options

Hakeem Jeffries, set to become the first Black speaker of the House, said in September that Democrats had not ruled impeachment in or out. Sherrod Brown, who defeated Trump-backed Jon Husted in Ohio’s Senate race, said he would not support impeaching Trump, arguing there was no reason to do so.

Removing a president requires a two-thirds Senate majority for treason, bribery or “high crimes and misdemeanors.” Matt Bennett, co-founder of the centrist Democratic think-tank Third Way, told The Times that Trump committed impeachable offenses but called impeachment a bad idea. Robert Garcia, the California Democrat leading the House Oversight Committee, posted “LAWYER UP” after the election. Another possible target is Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, who faces articles of impeachment filed by outgoing Republican Representative Thomas Massie of Kentucky and a direct threat from Jeffries.