Democrats’ first attempt at impeaching President Trump in his second term has quickly flamed out.
Four lawmakers, including a top Democrat who led the impeachment of Mr. Trump in 2019 and 2021, suddenly pulled their support for a resolution calling for a third impeachment of the president.
The withdrawals left Rep. Shri Thanedar, Michigan Democrat, without a single co-sponsor in his bid to impeach the president on various charges related to his official acts as president. They also raised questions about whether the appetite for impeaching Mr. Trump was dead.
Democrats gave various excuses for dropping the impeachment effort. Still, the pause appears to be directly connected to a signal to stand down from House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, New York Democrat, who is vying to win the majority in 2026 and become speaker.
“I don’t think that many people doubt that there have been high crimes and misdemeanors already committed,” said Rep. Jamie Raskin, Maryland Democrat and one of the leaders in Mr. Trump’s impeachments. “But that also requires a more sustained analysis.”
Congressional Democrats have spent much of the president’s first 100 days trying to find their footing after a November drubbing that left them in the minority in the House and Senate.
Mr. Jeffries is struggling to coalesce the party around an agenda that is more appealing to voters and can help Democrats win the majority.
He has stopped Democrats from making additional trips to El Salvador to visit a deported illegal immigrant and suspected gang member whom the left has championed as a victim. Mr. Jeffries is also working to tamp down party infighting and primary threats from the most liberal members of the party.
Impeachment isn’t high on Mr. Jeffries’ to-do list, and Mr. Thanedar did not consult him before filing the impeachment articles.
“Until I have a conversation with Shri, there’s really nothing further for me to add,” Mr. Jeffries said when asked about the impeachment resolution.
Mr. Thanedar targeted the president over many of the complaints Democrats have aired throughout his first three months in office. In short, they are opposed to nearly every action he has taken.
Mr. Thanedar’s articles of impeachment accuse Mr. Trump of obstruction of justice and abuse of executive power, usurping Congress’ appropriations powers, abusing trade powers with tariffs, violating the First Amendment and creating an unlawful office by establishing the Department of Government Efficiency, which has cut government spending and the federal workforce.
The articles also claim the president engaged in bribery, corruption and tyrannical overreach.
The most accurate polls predicting the outcomes of the past three presidential elections show that half of voters agree with Mr. Trump’s agenda. In polling by Rasmussen Reports, the president’s approval rating is hovering around 50%, although his numbers have dipped on his handling of the economy and inflation.
Mr. Thanedar introduced the impeachment articles Monday as Democrats seethed over the president’s first 100 days.
“Never has a president failed so spectacularly, so often, so quickly, as Donald Trump,” Mr. Jeffries said in his analysis of Mr. Trump’s agenda.
At first, Mr. Thanedar’s resolution gained traction.
Four Democrats quickly signed up as co-sponsors. One of them was Rep. Jerrold Nadler of New York, who spearheaded the first impeachment investigation during Mr. Trump’s first term and served as a manager in Mr. Trump’s second impeachment.
Rep. Kweisi Mfume of Maryland and Reps. Robin Kelly and Janice Schakowsky of Illinois quickly added their names to the list, indicating that congressional Democrats might be open to a third impeachment.
Two days later, they dropped their support.
Mr. Nadler, Ms. Kelly and Mr. Mfume told The Washington Times that they opted to withdraw as co-sponsors because House Democratic leadership was not in the loop. They acknowledged they didn’t necessarily know the details of the impeachment articles.
“When Shri came to me on the floor, I thought, ‘Yeah, [Trump] ought to be impeached,’” Mr. Nadler said. “But then it occurred to me, ‘Wait a minute, if we’re going to do this, we’ve got to do it as a caucus, discuss it in the caucus,’ which we haven’t done,” he said. “So I said, ‘I’ll take my name off.’”
When asked whether he agreed with the charges against Mr. Trump, Mr. Nadler said he had not had a chance to study them.
Mr. Thanedar declined to comment on this report. The Times reached out to his office for comment.
“When he asked me, I was in a rush trying to vote, and I did not understand exactly, I guess, what he was trying to do,” Ms. Kelly said.
Mr. Mfume said he dropped support for the resolution because it was not approved by leadership or legally vetted. If Democratic leaders support impeachment, he said, he will follow suit.
“I’m a soldier in the army,” he said. “So, if the leadership makes a determination, then I think that’ll be a clear marker for most of us.”
The Times reached out to Ms. Schakowsky’s office for comment but did not hear back.
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, New York Democrat, said there was “plenty of lawbreaking that should be examined and looked at” from the White House. Ultimately, she said, it was a question of what impeachment charges Democrats could coalesce behind.
“Impeachment exists for a reason, and it should absolutely be on the table,” she said. “It should be on the table for every president. Every president should know that if you break the law, you could be prone to removal.”
