One fed-up Republican Congressman considering pushing for Donald Trump’s impeachment
The conventional wisdom heading into Donald Trump’s tenure was that he was safe as long as the Republicans retained the majority in Congress, and that he was only truly at risk of impeachment and removal if the Democrats won the midterms. But with Trump’s approval rating historically low, Republicans in Congress are feeling the heat themselves. Now comes a report that one GOP House member, who fears losing his own seat due to Trump’s antics, is considering pushing to impeach Trump.
The news comes from Scott Dworkin of the respected Democratic Coalition Against Trump. He shared the following information this afternoon: “Was just told a GOP Member of Congress might move to Impeach Trump” (link). He then elaborated that “This was from angry GOP Hill Staffer who thinks his boss could lose their seat because of Trump’s tweets.” Dworkin couldn’t reveal the identity of the Republican Congressman in question, but logically speaking, it’s likely someone who is based in a moderate district and who believes that the best chance of getting reelected in the 2018 midterms is to take a major stand against the unpopular Trump now.
Moving forward with impeachment proceedings in the House would require a majority vote, which would require a number of Republicans joining with all of the Democrats. So a single House Republican can’t get Trump impeached. But if the one disgruntled GOP Congressman does publicly come out in favor of impeachment hearings, it could give others cover to do the same. Only about one-tenth of the current House Republicans would need to support impeachment hearings for them to happen.
Even if enough House Republicans do end up supporting impeachment hearings, it’s a long process – and after its conclusion, the Senate would then need to begin and complete a separate impeachment trial before Donald Trump could be officially removed. So the odds of Trump’s removal before the midterms remain unclear. But if multiple House GOP members do call for impeachment, it would place significant political pressure on Trump to simply resign rather than wage a losing battle. Contribute to Palmer Report
