President Donald Trump opened this midterm year with a warning for Republicans.
"You’ve got to win the midterms,” Trump told House Republicans on Jan. 6. "If we don’t win the midterms, it’s just going to be – they’ll find a reason to impeach me."
Election night brought big losses for Republicans, with Democrats taking control of Congress and even flipping Senate seats in deep-red states like Texas, South Carolina and Kansas. But Trump has been impeached by a Democratic controlled Congress before, and it didn't bar him from being in office.
So did these midterm election results pave the way for another impeachment? Here is what to know:
Why impeachment doesn't always result in removal from office
First, it is important to know
that an impeachment requires a smaller majority in the House than what is needed to be removed from office by the Senate.
An impeachment is akin to an indictment; it approves formal charges against a federal officeholder who has been accused of committing a crime.
The articles (charges) of impeachment must be adopted by a simple majority vote in the House before the Senate holds an impeachment trial. When a president is on trial, the Supreme Court chief justice presides. If the Senate votes by a two-thirds majority to convict, only then can the accused be removed from office. Sometimes, that also means they can never hold office again.
Did Democrats win enough seats to impeach Trump?
In the House, yes. As of the afternoon of Nov. 4, Democrats have won 235 seats, above the 218 threshold for a simple majority. So if every Democrat voted in favor of an impeachment resolution, it could pass.
But because the impeachment is only the first step, the Senate majority margin is also important to understand if the impeachment could result in a conviction and removal from office. In a Senate impeachment trial, two-thirds must vote to convict. Not all races have been called but, even if the undeclared races go toward Democrats, they would still fall short of the 67-vote threshold they would need, assuming all Senators vote with their parties.
Will Democrats try to impeach Trump?
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-New York, who could become the next Speaker of the House when the new Congress takes over in January, said they are going to focus on affordability.
"I haven't had a single member of the House Democratic Caucus talk to me about impeachment," he said on Nov. 4, saying they are focused on accountability in addition to affordability. "House Democrats are gonna lead a Congress that does serve as a check and balance on an out-of-control executive branch."
When it was becoming clear that Democrats would take back the majority, Rep. Robert Garcia, the top Democrat on the House Oversight Committee, pledged to open investigations, posting on X, "lawyer up." A majority means the Democrats will get the power of subpoena and contempt to wield in demanding answers from the Trump administration and his family.
Trump isn't the only one who could face impeachment. An impeachment resolution was also filed against Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth before the House went on recess for the midterm elections.
How many times has Trump been impeached?
Trump has been impeached twice, but the Senate acquitted him both times.
In December 2019, the House voted to impeach Trump on two articles, one charging him with abuse of power by asking Ukrainian officials to investigate his political opponent and another that he obstructed the congressional investigation into the matter. In February 2020, the Senate voted to acquit the president, and Sen. Mitt Romney, R-Utah, was the only Republican to cross party lines in voting to convict.
In January 2021, the House voted to impeach Trump again, charging the president with "incitement to insurrection" related to the events at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. Ten Republicans broke ranks and voted with Democrats to impeach Trump. Only two of those 10 lawmakers are still in office, and one of them has said he will not seek re-election in 2026. The others retired from Congress or lost their races.
The Senate trial occurred after Trump left office, and some Republicans found it unnecessary since he was no longer in power. A majority voted to convict, with seven Republicans crossing party lines, but the 57-43 vote fell short of the two-thirds majority needed for a conviction. Because he was acquitted, there was no vote to bar him from holding office again.
Contributing: Miles J. Herszenhorn, USA TODAY
Kinsey Crowley is the Trump Connect reporter for the USA TODAY Network. She is reporting from Maine for the 2026 midterm elections. Reach her at KCrowley@usatodayco.com. Follow her on Instagram and TikTok.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Do Democrats have enough votes to impeach Donald Trump? See breakdown
