President Donald Trump is already preparing for a third impeachment, although Democrats remain divided over whether to pursue one if they take control of the House next month.
Trump told reporters Wednesday that he was “never even worried” about his first two impeachments and he brushed off the prospect of another, and one adviser told Axios that Trump is “in his element in chaos and when he’s being persecuted.”
“I can do whatever I want, if I want,” Trump said, calling the impeachments and the criminal cases that followed “very illegal things.” “I view the presidency as a very sacred position – very sacred position, very important, very sacred, a position where it has to be treated properly.”
People close to the president suggested he might welcome the fight, and a longtime a longtime confidant went further.
“If Democrats win and start the investigations, he’ll get more defiant ... Democrats won’t be able to resist impeachment and he won’t be able to resist daring them to do it," that person said. "You think you control Donald Trump? Well, f--- you – you don’t.”
White House officials are betting that impeachment would undercut Democrats’ central campaign message, and a senior administration official said it would “just prove Democrats are all about getting Trump, and this stuff about affordability is just a hoax.”
Another official cast it as a gift to Vice President JD Vance, who is widely expected to run in 2028. “If Democrats want JD to become president, please, impeach Trump,” the official said.
Democrats are far from united. Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-MD), who led Trump’s second impeachment and is in line to chair the House Judiciary Committee, has said Trump has “already committed numerous impeachable offenses,” but he also cautioned that Democrats are “very sober” about the two-thirds vote needed to convict in the Senate.
“It is not a fetish with us,” Raskin said. “On the other hand, it’s definitely not a taboo.”
Former Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel waved off the idea and said he supports investigations instead, “because it’s not going anywhere and it’s going to be a food fight.”
Progressives, including Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) and Ro Khanna (D-CA), have argued for impeachment. Khanna says Democrats can “uphold constitutional values” and still pursue a cost-of-living agenda.
Some Republicans have signaled that if they keep control of the Senate, they could vote to dismiss any articles without holding a trial.
Senate Democrats used the same maneuver in 2024, after the House impeached former Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas.