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                    "If Democrats win control of Congress next year, they\u2019ll be faced with a familiar question: Should they impeach President Donald Trump?\n\n\n\nBut one of the president\u2019s most outspoken critics from within his own party has some advice for Democrats: Don\u2019t underestimate the power of impeaching cabinet secretaries.\n\n\n\n\n\nJust last week, Rep. Thomas Massie of Kentucky demonstrated the potential power of impeachment when he introduced a resolution targeting Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth.\n\n\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\n\nAfter Massie\u2019s surprise move, House GOP leaders \u2014\u00a0who already were sending the House home two weeks early for campaign season \u2014\u00a0decided to throw in the towel and leave even sooner rather than allow the vote.\n\n\n\nMassie and some Democrats have argued it\u2019s because, if a vote were called, it could have attracted the support of almost every Democrat and enough Republicans to succeed in the House \u2014\u00a0a messaging embarrassment for Trump and the GOP.\u00a0\n\n\n\nMassie suggested there\u2019s a lesson in the whole mess, telling MS NOW that \u201cimpeaching cabinet members is highly underrated.\u201d\u00a0\n\n\n\n\u201cI would think a lot of these cabinet secretaries are going to get pardons at the end of their tenure \u2014 or the end of the president\u2019s tenure, at least,\u201d he said.\u00a0\n\n\n\n\n\nThe whole episode comes as Democrats are ramping up plans for aggressive oversight investigations of the Trump administration, should they win control of Congress in the November elections.\u00a0\n\n\n\nAlready, however, some Democrats believe their party should go further than just investigating the president; they want impeachment.\n\n\n\nThat\u2019s an avenue the party pursued twice against Trump before, without achieving a successful conviction in the Senate, where a two-thirds majority is required.\u00a0\n\n\n\nIn the aftermath of those impeachments, Trump used the failed convictions to rally his base, casting himself as a martyr and playing into their fealty.\n\n\n\nThat history is forcing Democrats to weigh not just whether to impeach, but whom to impeach.\n\n\n\n\n\nThe GOP skittishness over defending Hegseth is suggesting an alternative approach, particularly if Democrats focus on cabinet members who have less political loyalty from Republicans than Trump himself.\n\n\n\nSome Democrats are open to the idea, as they figure out how to signal to their base that they\u2019re resisting Trump while not inspiring a voter backlash.\n\n\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\n\nRep. Jamie Raskin, D-Md. \u2014\u00a0who is expected to lead the House Judiciary Committee, where any articles of impeachment would likely originate \u2014\u00a0noted that even the threat of impeachment could lead to a White House shakeup.\n\n\n\n\u201cThere were impeachment resolutions that either had just been filed or were about to be filed with respect to Kristi Noem and Pam Bondi,\u201d Raskin said. \u201cThey were such a disaster, the administration just ended up having to get rid of them on their own.\u201d\n\n\n\nRep. James Walkinshaw \u2014 a member of the House Oversight Committee \u2014 echoed that sentiment.\n\n\n\n\n\nThe Virginia Democrat told MS NOW that, while it is \u201chard to envision\u201d getting \u201cenough Republicans to cross Trump\u201d in the Senate, he \u201cabsolutely\u201d could see an investigation that \u201ccreates enough of a distraction from the White House\u2019s perspective that they cut somebody loose.\u201d\n\n\n\n\u201cTrump has been impeached twice. Pete Hegseth has not,\u201d Walkinshaw said.\n\n\n\nLast week, House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries didn\u2019t dismiss the idea of impeaching a cabinet member \u2014\u00a0or Trump, for that matter.\n\n\n\n\u201cWe haven\u2019t ruled anything out when it comes to all of the tools available to us to hold people accountable,\u201d the New York Democrat told MS NOW. \u201cAnd we haven\u2019t ruled anything in.\u201d\n\n\n\nIn U.S. history, the impeachment of a cabinet secretary is exceedingly rare. Only two have ever been impeached by the House: Secretary of War William Belknap in 1876 and Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas in 2024.\u00a0\n\n\n\n\n\nNeither was convicted in the Senate.\n\n\n\nPredictably, of the more than a dozen Democrats who spoke with MS NOW, most didn\u2019t jump at the idea of impeaching anyone.\n\n\n\nSome questioned whether impeachment \u2014 either of the president or of a cabinet official \u2014\u00a0would be a good use of their time, noting the two-thirds threshold for conviction in the Senate. Plus, Democrats note that voters are turning to their party to address the cost of living \u2014 not just to go after Trump.\n\n\n\n\nRep. Pat Ryan, D-N.Y., told MS NOW that, when it comes to impeachment as a tool, \u201cI think it is not worth the effort if we don\u2019t think there\u2019s a reasonable chance of success.\u201d\n\n\n\n\u201cWe\u2019ve seen this now a few times. Taking that shot and not succeeding has a cost, too,\u201d Ryan said.\n\n\n\n\n\nHe added that there are other ways Democrats can \u201cprosecute the case against Hegseth and Trump that make it clear to the American public.\u201d\n\n\n\nOther Democrats also showed some hesitancy to go full steam ahead on impeachment, either endorsing alternative approaches or just saying their focus needs to be elsewhere.\n\n\n\nSen. Mazie Hirono, D-Hawaii, told MS NOW that \u201cimpeachment is one route to accountability, but there are many other ways to go.\u201d She pointed to \u201cinvestigatory hearings.\u201d\n\n\n\nSen. Peter Welch, D-Vt., said, \u201cWe should be focused on affordability, not impeachment.\u201d\n\n\n\nAnd Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., told MS NOW that, while he believes congressional committees should be \u201csuper vigorous\u201d in uncovering corruption in the Trump White House, he believes that the top focus should be passing legislation focused on affordability.\n\n\n\n\n\n\u201cAnything that is other than doing that is not the best use of time,\u201d Kaine said.\n\n\n\n\u201cThe rest of us ought to be legislating and accomplishing the things we\u2019ve been telling voters we want to accomplish,\u201d he added.\n\n\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\n\nPart of the Democratic holdup around impeachment is rooted in what happened in the aftermath of the two impeachments of the first Trump term, when the president tried to use the failed Senate convictions to rally and re-energize his supporters.\n\n\n\nSen. Mark Warner, D-Va., said that \u201cDonald Trump is a genius at playing the victim.\u201d\u00a0\n\n\n\n\u201cIf we should learn anything, it\u2019s that if we are able to take back the House and the Senate, we got to get stuff done,\u201d Warner said.\n\n\n\n\n\nMassie himself hinted at the balancing act Democrats may need to navigate.\n\n\n\n\u201cAfter we lose the midterms,\u201d Massie said of the GOP, \u201cTrump\u2019s popularity will be at a low. My advice to Democrats: Don\u2019t get too crazy.\u201d\n\n\n\nBut, Massie added, \u201cit\u2019s likely that the Democrats will go crazy and increase his popularity again.\u201d\n\n\n\nFor his part, Raskin \u2014\u00a0who could be the face of any impeachment \u2014\u00a0admitted plainly that Democrats have not \u201cdecided\u201d on what the path forward will look like.\u00a0\n\n\n\nHe said Democrats know that impeachment \u201cis not a panacea, so it\u2019s not a fetish for us.\u201d\n\n\n\n\n\n\u201cBut,\u201d he added, \u201cit\u2019s also not a taboo in any way. We\u2019re not afraid of it.\u201d"
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