Raskin Says Democrats 'Will Not Hesitate' to Impeach Trump Again If They Retake the House

Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-MD) told NBC's Kristen Welker on Sunday's Meet the Press that Democrats would consider a third impeachment of President Trump if they retake the House in November, calling it "a critical tool in the toolbox for constitutional self-defense."

"Impeachment is not a taboo with us," Raskin said. "It's not a fetish with us. We understand it's not a panacea. It is a tool in the toolbox. We will not hesitate to use it if we need to use it."

Welker asked Raskin directly whether Trump has committed impeachable offenses in his second term. "Undoubtedly," Raskin answered.

He listed several grievances: military action without a congressional declaration of war, what he called defiance of Congress's power over federal spending, and the demolition of the White House East Wing. "If he can bulldoze the East Wing, he can bulldoze the West Wing," Raskin said. "He believes that he is a king." He also called the administration "the most massively corrupt presidential administration in American history," without citing a specific charge, indictment, or investigation to back that claim.

None of this amounts to a formal impeachment inquiry. No articles of impeachment have been introduced, and Raskin was explicit that this is a hypothetical tied to a Democratic House majority that does not currently exist.

Two Impeachments, Zero Convictions

Raskin, who served as lead House impeachment manager during Trump's second Senate trial, noted that Trump has already been impeached twice, over the 2019 Ukraine dealings and the January 6, 2021 Capitol riot, accounting for half of all presidential impeachments in U.S. history. Both ended in acquittal. Raskin said the second trial fell 10 votes short of conviction, with only seven Republican senators joining Democrats, and he blamed then-Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell for the shortfall.

That history is the strongest argument against a repeat: two prior impeachments produced zero convictions and, according to Raskin's own account of the 2022 midterms and subsequent elections, no lasting political payoff for Democrats. Critics, including Trump himself, have argued a third attempt without a Senate supermajority is theater, not accountability. Trump has told Republicans that a Democratic House would "find a reason to impeach me" regardless of the facts.

Democrats Aren't United on This

Raskin's comments sit alongside a real split inside his own party. Rep. Jim Clyburn (D-SC) said on Meet the Press last month that impeachment should not be a priority if Democrats retake the House, pointing instead to housing, education, energy, and healthcare, according to NBC News. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries has said Democrats have not ruled anything in or out, per MEAWW News. Raskin himself said healthcare, not impeachment, is what matters most right now, citing Medicaid cuts and the expiration of ACA tax credits.

Whether a Democratic majority, if it materializes in November, would actually move on impeachment or table it in favor of legislative priorities Raskin says are more urgent remains unresolved.

The East Wing Argument Has a Wrinkle

The Supreme Court ruled in favor of the White House ballroom construction project last week, according to NBC News video summaries and Gateway Pundit's coverage. Raskin's framing treats the East Wing demolition as unchecked executive lawlessness, but the nation's highest court has already weighed in on the construction and sided with the administration. Gateway Pundit's writeup, published under the byline of Jordan Conradson for The Gateway Pundit and republished by London Times Live, called Raskin "crazed" and said he was "laughably arguing" the ballroom counts as an impeachable offense. That's the outlet's own characterization, not a neutral description of what Raskin said, and it's worth flagging as opinion dressed as news rather than straight reporting.

Beyond Impeachment: Election-Year Alarm

Raskin separately raised concerns to Roll Call about Trump suggesting he could declare a national emergency ahead of the midterms, according to Northeast Times. Raskin noted the U.S. held elections during the Civil War and World War II and called the idea "extremely strange." He said Democrats' first move in that scenario would be a court injunction, citing what he described as an 80 percent success rate for legal challenges to Trump administration actions, an unverified figure attributed only to Raskin himself in the sourced reporting.

Raskin said he wants a midterm result "too big to rig." Whether Democrats even win the House majority needed to bring any of this to a vote remains the open question heading into November. If they do, the party's own leaders, from Raskin to Clyburn to Jeffries, have not agreed on what comes next.