Jeffries Won't Rule Out Impeaching Trump if Democrats Retake the House

Since Jeffries' private meeting with Jared Kushner became public in late August, the House Democratic leader has faced a two-front problem: keep his party unified heading into November while managing expectations about what a Democratic majority would actually do with subpoena power. On September 13, appearing on ABC's "This Week," Jeffries gave his clearest answer yet. It wasn't an answer at all.

Asked directly by George Stephanopoulos whether House Democrats would pursue impeachment proceedings against President Trump on "day one" of a new majority, Jeffries said: "No, we haven't ruled anything in and we haven't ruled anything out in terms of impeachment." He said the effort would be led by Rep. Jamie Raskin of Maryland, ranking member on Judiciary, and Rep. Robert Garcia of California, ranking member on Oversight, and that Democrats would "follow the facts, apply the law, be guided by the Constitution, and then let the chips fall where they may."

What Democrats say they're planning

According to Fox News Digital, Garcia's Oversight team has been mapping out investigation targets for months in anticipation of a possible majority. Rep. Jason Crow of Colorado, who co-chairs the House Anti-Corruption Caucus and served as an impeachment manager during Trump's first term, told Fox News he wants to start with the Pentagon. "There is corruption, there's incompetence, there is nepotism at the DoD," Crow said, citing what he called "very disturbing reports" about ties between defense appropriations and companies linked to the Trump family. Crow did not rule out impeachment as a tool, calling it "one of several tools that Congress has" to pursue accountability.

Those claims about DoD contracting are allegations from a Democratic lawmaker, not findings from any completed investigation, audit, or indictment. No charges have been filed and no independent probe has been announced as of this writing. Whether the reports Crow references hold up would be exactly the kind of thing a Democratic-controlled Oversight Committee would try to establish through subpoenas next year.

The Kushner meeting still hangs over Jeffries

The impeachment question landed on Jeffries at an awkward moment. The Daily Signal's Robert Bluey reported that Jeffries has faced sustained criticism from his party's left since The New York Times revealed his private meeting with Kushner, where the two discussed housing, immigration and the cost of living. Justice Democrats spokesman Usamah Andrabi told Axios that opposing Medicare for All and taking secret meetings with Trump's son-in-law "sounds more like the leadership of the Republican Party." Former Obama aide Tommy Vietor argued the only appropriate way to engage Kushner was through subpoenas, and Zeteo's Mehdi Hasan called Jeffries' explanation "pathetic." Sen. Chris Van Hollen was more measured, telling NBC's "Meet the Press" he was fine with the meeting itself but wanted to see "something real" come out of it.

The Epoch Times framed the Kushner-Jeffries meeting differently, describing it as "political insurance" by a White House quietly preparing for the possibility of a Democratic House, noting Kushner also suggested Jeffries meet with Chief of Staff Susie Wiles. That framing treats the meeting as pragmatic hedging by both sides rather than a betrayal by Jeffries, a reading his intra-party critics clearly reject.

The political math

As of Friday, Decision Desk HQ put Democrats' odds of retaking the House at 68 percent, needing a net gain of just three seats. Trump has already told supporters he expects to be impeached if Democrats win, saying at a South Carolina rally, "They're going to impeach me. They have no idea why." Republicans have introduced a resolution to formally "expunge" both of Trump's prior impeachments, which ended in Senate acquittals in 2020 and 2021.

Jeffries used the same ABC appearance to lay out a policy wish list beyond investigations: nullifying Trump's tariffs, forcing an end to the six-month-plus conflict with Iran, and restoring expired Affordable Care Act subsidies. He also pushed back on the idea that Trump isn't on the ballot in November. "Mr. President, we don't have to pretend. You are actually on the ballot," Jeffries said, citing costs, tariffs, health care and Iran as the issues he expects to drive votes.

What remains genuinely open is whether Raskin and Garcia would actually move on impeachment articles if Democrats win, or whether Jeffries' hedge is simply standard pre-election messaging discipline designed to avoid alienating swing voters before November 3. Jeffries gave no timeline and no specific predicate for impeachment beyond "follow the facts." The Trump administration has not responded publicly to Crow's Pentagon allegations.