Donald Trump could be facing serious trouble as the Democrats retaking of the House of Representatives is expected to pave the way for impeachment efforts — depending on the results of the Russia investigation.
On Tuesday, Democrats made serious gains in the lower house of Congress, taking back control of the House after eight years in the hands of Republicans. The gain was critical as it gives Democrats a check on Donald Trump’s agenda and gives them control of committees that can investigate Trump. As the Independent noted, it could also mean that efforts to impeach Donald Trump are increasingly likely.
As the report noted, there have already been some nascent efforts to impeach Donald Trump, but none earned the backing of Democratic leadership and all failed. With the results of Robert Mueller’s Russia investigation expected to be returned in the coming months — or possibly weeks — there could be the first real chance for Democrats to impeach the president, the report noted.
“I don’t think Democrats will do anything until the Mueller report actually comes out,” political strategist Kevin Mack told Newsweek . “They might start some investigations, they’ve indicated that. On impeachment, I don’t think they’ll do anything until the report is complete.”
That is also the message coming from Nancy Pelosi, who appears to be in line to become the next Speaker of the House. She said on Tuesday night that there are no plans to impeach Donald Trump — at least not without strong, bipartisan backing of the effort.
Pelosi reiterated that she is not in support of impeaching Trump, but left open the possibility if he is implicated in the final report from the Russia investigation.
“It depends on what happens in the [special counsel Robert] Mueller investigation, but that is not unifying and I get criticized in my own party for not being in support of it,” Pelosi said in an interview with PBS . “But I’m not. If that happens, it would have to be bipartisan, and the evidence would have to be so conclusive.”
“For those who want impeachment, that’s not what our caucus is about,” House Minority Leader @NancyPelosi tells @JudyWoodruff . pic.twitter.com/KJksuVATQU
— PBS NewsHour (@NewsHour) November 6, 2018
There could be other avenues for Democrats to impeach Donald Trump beyond the Russia investigation, including testimony from his former lawyer Michael Cohen that could implicate Trump in felony election finance violations. There has been no indication from Democratic leaders that they would pursue this.
Mueller’s evidence would be at the center of any impeachment effort, as would Michael Cohen’s testimony about how Trump directed him to commit an election law felony https://t.co/Ok2ib8GIwW pic.twitter.com/nxYf5wGvDY
— Bloomberg Opinion (@opinion) November 6, 2018
So while Donald Trump faces an increasing possibility of impeachment, Democrats have signaled that they will not move forward with the effort without evidence strong enough that Republicans would be likely to join in the effort.
