Dec. 27, 2025, 4:01 a.m. ET
Democrats are looking increasingly likely to reclaim the House of Representatives on or before the 2026 midterm elections. In addition to providing a crucial check on the Republican agenda, control of the lower chamber of Congress gives Democrats the ability to impeach President Donald Trump.
Trump has done two things that I consider outright impeachable: the first being his gross abuse of the pardon power, and the second being his illegal drone strike campaign against alleged drug boats in the Caribbean. However, I caution Democrats against becoming gung-ho on impeaching Trump frequently.
House Speaker Mike Johnson has warned of the likelihood of another Trump impeachment if Democrats retake the House next year. His forecast came on the heels of a defeated attempt on Dec. 11 from Rep. Al Green, D-Texas, to impeach Trump and kick-started a new round of impeachment talks.
Should they win a House majority less than a year from now, Democrats should use their newfound power with restraint. Another impeachment of weak standing will only embolden Trump and Republicans, and is likely to result in much of the same as it did in Trump’s first term.
Impeachment loses its bite when overused for political gain
Impeachment requires that articles pass a simple majority in the House in order to charge the president. Removal from office requires that at least two-thirds of the Senate vote to convict the president.
The reason the bar for impeachment and removal from office is so high is that it is a remedy for when the president has truly violated his oath and can no longer be trusted with power. Impeachment was never intended as a remedy for bad policy; that’s what elections are for. It is an ejection lever that ought not be used when the plane can be landed safely.
Not only is this the constitutional intent of this function, but it is also the practical reality of it. Impeachment is to be taken more seriously when there is a legitimate case. This doesn’t just increase the likelihood of a bipartisan conviction in the Senate; it also increases the legitimacy of the affair in front of the American people.
Impeachment is only effective in its purpose as a tool in response to a legitimate transgression. You can’t arrive at the answer of impeachment and then manufacture the high crimes and misdemeanors in pursuit of that goal. If you go out of order, the action ends up being transparently partisan and discounts the legitimacy of the impeachment, even if the basis for it is proper.
When it came time for the impeachment inquiry into Trump’s actions leading up to and on the day of the riot at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, part of the reason it didn’t gain enough steam was because Republicans could fall back on the idea that Democrats had been pursuing any impeachment of Trump they could possibly conjure, though I will admit the primary reason is because Trump was exiting office.
Democrats should be wise to not impeach Trump haphazardly
Democrats are unlikely to obtain a 67-seat Senate majority, and given how coalesced the GOP is behind Trump I doubt that any Senate Republicans would vote to convict him. However, so long as the economy doesn’t suddenly improve for most Americans, Democrats are likely to have a favorable chance at retaking the House next fall. This leaves the likely scenario of Democrats regaining the House, but not the Senate.
Democrats could then feel the need to retaliate against Trump and his administration for any number of actions.
Any impeachment proceeding brought by the House is unlikely to result in a Senate conviction. The impact of the whole ordeal is merely political. In this sense, it is almost a given that congressional Democrats will proceed anyway in order to score points with their voters.
However, for the sake of the country, I think the Democrats ought to exercise restraint with regard to impeachment proceedings, should they find themselves in the position to do so.
To be sure, congressional Republicans should be blamed in this dynamic as well. Their cowardice in not being willing to impeach a president of their own party is plenty objectionable as well, and something I am sure to condemn if they decline to vote with Democrats to impeach for either of the two matters I outlined.
However, the burden unfortunately rests on Democrats in order to bring impeachment articles against Trump, given his pervasive favor throughout the Republican Party. They will surely be the ones active in any charges.
Hopefully, Democrats are able to set aside their partisanship enough to have learned this lesson from the last time around, though I may have chuckled while writing that sentence. Otherwise, they are all but doomed to repeat the same actions and produce similar results.
Dace Potas is an opinion columnist for USA TODAY and a graduate of DePaul University with a degree in political science.
