Trump's team war-gaming for an impeachment fight

President Trump's advisers are seriously considering the likelihood that he would be impeached again if Democrats take the House next year."I'm certain," Trump's longtime pollster, John McLaughlin, told Axios, echoing others in Trump's orbit.Why it matters: As the only twice-impeached president, Trump and his team are keenly aware of how much the process can weigh on the White House and grind a president's agenda to a halt.Democrats don't control the House now, but they're already signaling that they're eager to drag Trump through another impeachment.In a warning shot Monday, Michigan Rep. Shri Thanedar introduced seven long-shot articles of impeachment against Trump for how he's dealt with immigration, humanitarian aid and judicial rulings.On Friday, Georgia Sen. Jon Ossoff became the first swing-state senator to signal support for impeaching Trump.The big picture: The threat of impeachment has added urgency to the Trump administration's push to get as much of his agenda through Congress as possible before the 2026 midterms — especially his plan to extend his 2017 tax cuts.The threat of another impeachment also could help Trump's team motivate his fickle base to turn out in elections without him on the ballot. McLaughlin said it's a clarion call to House Republicans to set aside their differences and back his economic platform."We need to pass the tax cuts and avoid a recession," McLaughlin said. "That's the high stakes here. We cannot lose the midterms."Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent recently told conservative podcaster Tucker Carlson that "the real danger here if there were a midterm loss — and I don't think there has to be — you know what's going to happen ... [The] Democratic House is going to go immediately to impeachment for something."Zoom in: Democrats are under pressure from their base to oppose Trump more forcefully, and vowing to impeach Trump likely would help Democrats raise money from grassroots donors and elevate Democratic lawmakers' national profiles.But some Democratic leaders and strategists believe they need to moderate in order to peel away middle-of-the-road swing voters who went for Trump in 2024 — and who Democrats need to win elections.Zoom out: Impeachment was a back-burner issue for Trump's team even before the 2024 election. One senior Trump adviser said last year that the mere threat of a Democrat-led House with a Trump presidency was extra motivation to make sure the House would wind up in GOP hands.Unlike Trump's first term, one senior adviser said, some Democrats' push to temper the calls for impeachment might carry the day this time. They "have largely learned their lesson. But it depends on who wins the primaries," the adviser said."Democrats have their own problems," the adviser added, referring to divisions between moderates and progressives who are more inclined to seek impeachment."They have an internal war, and the outcome might do more to define the general election than anything we're doing."Reality check: There are no standards for impeachment beyond what the House decides is an offense worthy of charges. Impeaching a president requires a simple majority vote in the House, but it takes 67 votes in the 100-member Senate to remove a president from office, which has never happened.Democrats are only a few seats seats away from retaking the majority in the 435-member House, which would give them the power to start an impeachment inquiry. An impeachment is disruptive, but it ain't what it used to be to Trump, a second adviser to the president said."Ooh, impeachment," the adviser said mockingly. "They already did it twice and it did nothing."White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt affected a similar nonchalance Monday when asked about impeachment and the articles filed by Thanedar: "Who the hell is this lunatic?"Lawyer David Schoen, who defended Trump in his first impeachment over leveraging aid to Ukraine, said he thought the president "would care. It would be yet another effort at derailing the agenda he was elected to pursue."However, Schoen added, "I think he also would recognize that while some on the far left would cheer it, it would likely help him politically on the backdrop of the previous two efforts and the other attacks the past four years, which I believe propelled many voters to vote for him."

Comments

World news

Europe's best 'hidden gem' revealed - but it actually gets 5m tourists every year

Comments

Similar News

Trump to eliminate 1,200 CIA positions within larger plan to shrink spy workforce: report

Trump will unfreeze Maine funding after trans athlete lawsuit: ‘We took him to court and we won’

Trump says short-term recession OK: "This is a transition period"

Trump order targeting law firm is illegal, federal judge rules

Win for Maine as Trump officials agree to halt school funding freeze

Mixed economic data puts Trump’s domestic agenda at risk

Trump Eliminates Key Tariff Loophole

What Trump’s New Budget Says About U.S. Foreign Policy

Wall Street stocks bounce back from Trump tariff losses

Radio Free Asia announces mass layoffs amid funding fight with Trump administration

Canadian PM Carney has 'constructive' calls with Trump ahead of White House visit Tuesday

Iran blasts Donald Trump with furious 3-word swipe as nuclear tensions soar

Goldman Sachs removes the word ‘Black’ from diversity programs as Trump continues to pressure companies to end DEI

One big thing to know about Trump’s budget

Trump’s Trade Talks Are Unlikely to Resolve Tariff Woes Anytime Soon

Scoop: Trump coins spark Democratic feud over crypto legislation

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney will visit Trump at the White House on Tuesday

America says it’s Trump’s economy (despite his constant blaming of Biden)

What Trump's budget cuts could mean for the environment

Jeff Bezos is set to sell nearly $5 billion worth of Amazon stock amid Trump’s tariffs

World news

Europe's best 'hidden gem' revealed - but it actually gets 5m tourists every year

Another beautiful European city fights back against tourists with new £3.41 tax

Zelensky issues Victory Day celebration threat to Putin sparking fury in Russia

Musk promises DOGE has a ‘long-term’ future as steps back from White House having cut a fraction of what he promised

Alabama parents want answers after their 4-year-old got drunk at school: ‘She was slobbering at the mouth’

Tourists killed in fiery Yellowstone crash were among millions drawn to scenic park

Starmer congratulates Albanese on re-election and hails UK-Australia friendship

Australia’s Prime Minister Anthony Albanese wins 2nd term

RCMP continue search for 2 children who wandered from N.S. home

Deadly crash near Yellowstone highlights risks on scenic routes

McCanns remember missing Madeleine on anniversary of her disappearance

Ukraine ‘unleashes British Storm Shadow missiles on Russia, with Trump’s approval’

An afternoon watching Aston Villa’s MVP

How Rubio became Trump's minister of many hats

Warren Buffett calls for more free trade as path to prosperity

Russia reeling as £38m fighter jet shot down by Ukrainian sea drone in world first

Pensioner sues cruise ship after fall - but she's accused of wearing 'inappropriate' item

Australian conservative opposition leader loses seat in ‘Trump factor’ backlash

Throngs of admirers fill an arena to get Warren Buffett's take on tariffs and Berkshire Hathaway

Majority of Canadians say misinformation affected federal election: poll

‘Catastrophic loss’: Former MP says NDP lost touch with core supporters

Small-town mayors ‘excited’ Pierre Poilievre targeting seat in rural Alberta

Alberta NDP to vote on opting out of federal party membership

Trump posts AI image of himself as pope

Five people survive 36 hours surrounded by alligators after plane crashes into swamp

Why the places Reform didn’t quite win show the party is a real national force

‘I moved to Spain – now I’m bored and want to come back to the UK’

How to prevent yourself from being hacked – and what to do if you have

How Trump's budget proposals could affect lower-income Americans

Zelensky calls meeting with Trump at Vatican 'the best' and raises ceasefire hopes

Australian PM wins second term with increased majority

Russian soldier blown up trying to catch a drone as Ukraine launches massive aerial attack

Spanish holiday hotspot loved by Brits now gangster's paradise with crime rife

Grievances and forgiveness were both on display in Prince Harry's raw TV interview

Thousands of Islamists rally in Bangladesh against proposed changes to women's rights

A notorious drug gang is in the crosshairs of a French police investigation of prison attacks

Marco Rubio criticized Germany. The foreign ministry hit back

Chimney installed on roof of Sistine Chapel ahead of conclave to elect new pope

Did our politics fail us during Covid?

Why the Karen Read retrial might end differently this time

What the worst first dates all have in common

Australian PM Anthony Albanese wins re-election

BBC courts David Attenborough for Blue Planet III

Let’s be Frank: Brentford are peaking at just the right time

Scoop: Trump to hold summit with Gulf leaders during Saudi Arabia trip

Early vote count favors Australia's government being reelected for a second term

Druse in Syrian Town Rocked by Violence Agree to Disarm Militias

Scientist bitten by deadly snakes 200 TIMES helps create ‘unparalleled’ anti-venom to save thousands of lives

Donald Trump posts bizarre AI picture of him as POPE after joking he would be ‘top choice’ for next Pontiff

China finally reveals how Covid-19 started – and it's all America's fault

Mothers with newborns forced to leave children behind in India as diplomatic row with Pakistan deepens

The little-known disorder that causes RFK Jr.’s raspy voice

Labor wins Australia election as ‘Trump factor’ swings voters

Tourist taking selfie with ‘fake’ crocodile realises his mistake the hard way

Reform UK in bid to shed ‘boys’ club’ image with election of high-profile women

A watershed moment for the NHS this week – but did anyone actually notice?

Ibiza and Majorca holiday flights cut demanded by islands' government in war on tourists