If the Democratic Party retakes control of the House of Representatives in November, the White House expects the lower chamber to move forward with impeachment hearings against President Trump next year, the Washington Examiner reported Monday.
But though a vote may go against Trump in the House, the Examiner story says, it is not expected to clear the super-majority required for removal in the Senate. "There's no question that Democrats upset with President Trump will begin aggressive oversight hearings as well as start the push for impeachment," said Ron Bonjean, who advised former Speaker of the House Dennis Hastert (R-Ill.) and former Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott (R-Miss.).
However, Bonjean continued, "If a vote cleared a Democrat majority-led House, it would be very difficult to gain Senate approval because it would then take 67 votes to achieve removing the president. That means Senate Democrats would have to be unanimous as well as bringing with them more than a handful of Republicans."
An unnamed senior Democratic adviser agreed, arguing that Trump won't "be impeached unless special prosecutor Robert Mueller's team shows proven wrongdoing." Absent that, the adviser said, Democratic leadership will be wary of the risk.