Can Donald Trump be impeached if Democrats win the midterms?
This week firebrand Democrat Al Green filed articles of impeachment about Donald Trump for the eighth time.
“Our country and the lives of people within it are at risk as President Donald John Trump is a great threat to the United States democratic republic, its Constitution, and democracy,” the congressman said.
Donald Trump has said he will be impeached if Democrats take office. AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin
“The President is reducing American democracy to an authoritarian regime.”
Like most of the other times Green tried to oust the president, these articles are unlikely to get anywhere.
But in a few months time, things might change.
In November, all of the House of Representatives and a third of the Senate are up for re-election in the midterms.
And it is looking increasingly likely Democrats will reclaim both chambers.
As a consequence, Trump will likely face another impeachment trial, though it remains to be seen on what grounds.
But while an impeachment trial is almost certain, a vote that will result in him being removed from office is highly unlikely.
Removing a president from office requires 67 of the 100 senators to vote in favour.
Donald Trump could be impeached if Democrats take power in November. AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin
Democrats currently have 47 seats, meaning they will need to win 20 of the 22 Republican seats up for election in November to take the two-thirds majority.
It is not technically impossible, in the same way it is not technically impossible to swim from Australia to Peru wearing flippers made of concrete.
Democrats would then need to convince a critical mass of Republican senators to impeach Trump. Right now Trump is unpopular, but probably not unpopular enough for that to happen.
Nevertheless, the president is arguing that the impeachment threat is a good reason for voters to support Republicans in November.
“If we lose the midterms, I am going to be impeached,” he said at a South Carolina rally on Saturday.
“They’re going to impeach me. They have no idea why.”
With the wind at their backs, Democrats could win in typically Republican areas, like Mary Peltola in Alaska. AP Photo/Becky Bohrer
Grounds for impeachment in the constitution are broadly set as “high crimes and misdemeanours”.
The definition of “high crimes and misdemeanours” is effectively up to Congress, which means Trump could be impeached entirely at their will.
If Democrats take power, Trump could be forced to answer questions about his stock market trading in office, his airstrikes against suspected drug boats, his declaration of war against Iran without congressional approval or his demolition of the East Wing of the White House.
But if Trump is impeached next term, it won’t be by Al Green.
The 78-year-old will be out of office in January after his seat in Houston was redrawn out of existence.
Rep. Al Green was ousted from the 2025 State of the Union for heckling the president. nna\sswain
There has also been a push to impeach members of Trump’s cabinet, including Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth and Health Secretary Robert F Kennedy Jr.
For now, Democratic leadership is being coy about the prospects of impeachment.
“We’ve made clear we haven’t ruled anything in and we haven’t ruled anything out,” House Leader Hakeem Jeffries said.
Representative Jamie Raskin was asked if an impeachment vote was inevitable if Democrats took a majority.
“Nothing is inevitable. The president could decide to resign before then,” Raskin said.
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