Congressional Democrats are openly pushing for President Trump's removal from office after he posted a stark warning about Iran on Truth Social, saying "a whole civilization will die tonight, never to be brought back again."
The escalating calls for either impeachment or invocation of the 25th Amendment mark a dramatic shift from the beginning of Trump's second term, when such measures remained largely taboo. Nearly a dozen House Democrats and at least one senator are now explicitly demanding Cabinet action to remove the president.
Rep. Yassamin Ansari, the Iranian-American president of House Democrats' freshman class, was among the first to respond, urging Trump's Cabinet to invoke the 25th Amendment. "The fate of U.S. troops, the Iranian people, and the very foundation of our global system are at stake," she said.
Rep. Ilhan Omar called the situation "unhinged" and demanded removal through either the 25th Amendment or impeachment.
Behind the scenes, rank-and-file lawmakers are coordinating on potential action, according to two senior House Democrats and an aide familiar with the matter. Conversations include forcing an impeachment vote or sending a letter to the Cabinet urging them to use the 25th Amendment. Those discussions have not yet reached Democratic leadership, the sources said.
House Democrats including Reps. Mark Pocan, Rashida Tlaib, Diana DeGette, Shri Thanedar, and Sydney Kamlager-Dove all called for invoking the constitutional amendment. Others including Reps. Melanie Stansbury, Ro Khanna, Maxwell Frost, Julie Johnson, and Johnny Olszewski joined them.
The 25th Amendment allows the vice president and a majority of Cabinet members to temporarily remove a president deemed unable to discharge his duties. Any removal would require a two-thirds vote from both chambers of Congress to become permanent.
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries and other top Democrats have been focused on forcing an Iran war powers vote later this month rather than pursuing removal.
Trump's military actions in Venezuela and Iran this year have intensified Democratic calls for more drastic measures, with grassroots anger over what many see as constitutional violations fueling momentum for previously controversial procedures.
Rep. Betty McCollum, ranking member of the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Defense, told Trump's Cabinet to "take notice." Rep. Sarah McBride framed removal as a constitutional duty, calling it an "illegal war." Rep. Seth Magaziner warned that the president is "becoming increasingly erratic and dangerous."
The Republican Problem
Any removal effort faces nearly insurmountable obstacles. Cabinet members are Trump loyalists, and Republicans control Congress. Even Democrats acknowledge that substantial GOP support would be required to make any removal scenario viable.
"We have to beat the drum that GOP members have the power to stop this," McBride said, while Democratic Rep. Jim Himes acknowledged that "Republicans remain zombie-like acolytes."
Rep. Don Bacon, a retiring centrist Republican who frequently breaks with Trump, told Axios the president is simply "negotiating Trump style," and said Persian civilization will "thrive again when from under the yoke of the Ayatollahs."
In a notable crack in Trump's base, former Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, a onetime stalwart who has increasingly split with him on Iran and other issues, called for invoking the 25th Amendment.
The White House dismissed the Democratic push out of hand. Spokesperson Davis Ingle said Democrats have been threatening impeachment "since before he was even sworn into office," calling them "deranged, weak, and ineffective."
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