Rahm Emanuel urges Dems not to impeach Trump if they win the House
Former Chicago Mayor and White House chief of staff Rahm Emanuel urged his fellow Democrats not to attempt to impeach President Donald Trump if they win control of the House of Representatives next month.
Emanuel made the statement during a Sunday appearance on NBC News' "Meet the Press," saying Democrats should instead pursue ethics reform.
"Short answer: No, because it’s not going anywhere, and it’s going to be a food fight, and it’s just going to be we return to the politics of fighting," Emanuel said when asked about impeaching Trump.
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"You’re never going to get an impeachment," he added. "Then if you do that, you just basically prove all Washington is what the American people think. It’s Disneyland on the Potomac. Deliver the change. Deliver a comprehensive ethics package that uses the investigations to then deliver change."
The statement comes as Democrats hold a significant advantage over Republicans heading into the final weeks before the midterm elections.
In the House, Democrats are projected to win 215 seats compared to 201 for the GOP, meaning the left only needs three more victories out of the 19 possible toss-up races to clinch a majority. Republicans would need to win at least 17 of those races.
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., has declined to say whether he would support impeachment proceedings against Trump, though appeared to suggest this summer that it would not be a top priority.
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"We haven’t ruled anything in or ruled anything out in terms of accountability. What we have said is that our focus is going to be to make life more affordable for the American people. We have to drive down the high cost of living," Jeffries told NBC in June when asked about impeachment.
Emanuel, who served two terms as mayor of Chicago and as chief of staff for former President Barack Obama, is one of several prominent Democrats rumored to be eyeing a 2028 presidential run.
Emanuel has styled himself as a moderate Democrat opposed to infiltration by the democratic socialists, but that hasn't stopped him from expressing support for far-left candidates like Abdul El-Sayed in Michigan.
"You think people wanna support defunding the police? You think they wanna support open borders, open prisons? Run on it. I don't, and that's not the party's position," Emanuel told Fox News Digital in an interview last week. "Now, we will have healthy debate among progressive and pragmatic wing of the party. That's what a coalition party looks like. But that is it. You had a party convention!"
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While speaking at the Texas Tribune Festival, Emanuel didn't hesitate to praise Democratic Texas Senate nominee James Talarico, calling him "strong" and admiring Talarico for being "comfortable" about discussing his faith.
But when asked by Fox News Digital moments later whether he supports El-Sayed's candidacy, Emanuel initially hedged.
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"Look, I mean, it doesn't matter what I do... it matters what the Michigan voters think," he told Fox News Digital. "And that's what's gonna determine this in this effort. And I support the Democrats winning the Senate."
"So, in effect, you do hope that he wins that race for Democrats," Fox News Digital followed.
"Yeah," Emanuel answered.
Fox News' Joseph Wulfsohn contributed to this report.