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Democratic leaders navigate minefield amid liberal clamor to remove Trump

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by Mike Lillis - 04/11/26 6:00 AM ET

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by Mike Lillis - 04/11/26 6:00 AM ET

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Democratic leaders are walking a delicate line as liberals clamor for President Trump’s removal over the Iran war.

On one hand, the minority Democrats are well aware that they have virtually no power to boot Trump from office — an effort that’s opposed by even some in their own party — and they don’t want to distract from the issues of rising costs and inflation, where they see Republicans as most vulnerable heading into the midterms.

On the other hand, Trump’s threat to use the military to attack civilian infrastructure and destroy “a whole civilization” has infuriated base progressives, who say the president crossed a line that demands his removal, either through impeachment or the 25th Amendment. Liberals in the Capitol are advancing the cause.

The uproar is posing a dilemma for House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), who find themselves (once again) scrambling to prove to base voters that they’re fighting their best fight to restrain Trump’s impulses — without antagonizing the centrists whose support will be crucial to the Democrats’ success in November’s elections.

Walking that tightrope, Jeffries this week condemned Trump’s Iran posture in the harshest terms while steering clear of the removal efforts that are gaining traction in his ranks. He then offered the liberals an outlet to blow off their steam: On Friday, the House Democratic Caucus staged an all-hands discussion, led by Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.), a former professor of constitutional law, on the “different accountability mechanisms, in the words of Jeffries, available to Democrats as they seek to rein in Trump’s actions.

The virtual gathering featured an examination of the merits and drawbacks of their limited options, including the push for impeachment and the effort to entice members of Trump’s Cabinet to eject the president via the 25th Amendment.

Raskin, for one, is a loud proponent of the 25th Amendment strategy. And from the left, a growing number of liberals agree, saying it’s imperative that Democrats pursue Trump’s removal, even if it’s a long shot.

“When somebody threatens a genocide and has the nuclear codes, there is a problem,” Rep. Linda Sánchez (D-Calif.), a former member of the Democratic leadership team, told NewsNation on Thursday.

“We go to war with governments or terrorists; we do not go to war with civilians,” she added. “And knocking out infrastructure like power plants and water facilities is a war crime.”

If Trump’s Cabinet doesn’t act by invoking the 25th Amendment, Sánchez added, “we need public sentiment to create the pressure to have them remove him from office.”

Senate liberals have joined the chorus, with some calling for impeachment and others pressing for the 25th Amendment.

Neither Jeffries nor Schumer have endorsed any of the removal efforts, which Democratic leaders have framed at various times over the last year as a distraction from their preferred focus: the rise in consumer costs and erosion of health coverage under Trump’s second term.

“In terms of … impeachment and things that matter, we’ve said we’ve ruled nothing out and we’ve ruled nothing in,” Jeffries said Thursday in an interview on MS NOW’s “Morning Joe” program.

Instead, Democratic leaders in both chambers have repeatedly compelled votes on war powers resolutions, which are designed to force Trump to terminate all military operations in Iran unless Congress explicitly authorizes them. In each instance, Trump’s Republican allies have rallied to defeat the measures, most recently in the House on Thursday.

The cautious approach is being cheered by more moderate Democrats, some of whom are facing tough midterm reelection contests. They’re quick to note that Trump was impeached twice in his first term, only to win the largest popular vote in U.S. history four years later.

They’re also warning that an aggressive effort to oust the president will drown out the Democrats’ economic message and mobilize Trump’s supporters to vote in November.

“We already tried it; it didn’t work,” Rep. Henry Cuellar, a Texas Blue Dog Democrat, told NewsNation. “You’re not going to get the votes [to convict] in the Senate. And all it does — it just energizes the Republican voters to come out. And so I’m not going to vote to impeach the president.”

Democrats have been highly critical of Trump’s return to office, hammering the president acros