Trump impeachment not a top priority if Dems win back House, Jeffries says

A potentially historic third impeachment of Donald Trump will not be a “top priority” should the Democrats regain control of the House of Representatives in the midterm elections, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries has said.

“I’ve made clear from the very beginning that our top priority is going to be to drive down the high cost of living,” Jeffries told Fox News during an interview Sunday.

“We believe in this country, you work hard, you play by the rules. You should be able to live an affordable life, a comfortable life, in fact, to live a good life, and that means a good paying job and good housing, good health care, good education for your children, and when it’s all said and done, a good retirement.”

His remarks come despite reports that some Democratic lawmakers are already putting together plans to start the impeachment process in November, should they win. Trump himself has also warned Republicans in January that Democrats would make further pushes for his impeachment, should they gain control over the House.

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The president has already faced two separate impeachment attempts, both of which occurred following controversies in his first term.

The first, in December 2019, saw him impeached in the House with abuse of power and obstruction of Congress after allegedly asking Ukrainian officials to investigate Joe Biden, his likely opponent for the 2020 election.

On February 5, 2020, the Senate voted to acquit Trump of the charges, with a majority of Senators voting in favor of acquittal.

The second came in response to the January 6 riots at the Capitol in Washington, D.C., which resulted in Trump being charged with "incitement of insurrection.”

The Senate trial for the second impeachment attempt took place after he had left office and on February 13, 2021, the Senate voted to acquit Trump on the article of impeachment.

Democrats have already filed articles of impeachment against the president and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth over his threats to Iran.

Trump has been accused of a “serial usurpation of the congressional war power” and “commission of murder, war crimes and piracy” with attacks in Iran, Venezuela and in international waters against alleged drug-running boats and elsewhere.

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However, Democratic lawmakers agree with Jeffries and have warned that focusing on removing Trump, or impeaching him, would, at best, muddy their election-year message of making America more affordable.

At worst, such a drive has the potential to completely turn off voters who witnessed the last two failed attempts and are more concerned with more pressing issues, including the economy.

Democratic Representative ​Rosa DeLauro, from Connecticut, agreed that "there is something unbelievably wrong" with Trump, but said that focus needed to be elsewhere during the run-up to the midterms.

"Let's get to what the needs of the country are. The economy, healthcare, grocery prices, that's where I concentrate," DeLauro, who is seeking a 19th term in Congress, told Reuters.

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