Democrats would impeach President Donald Trump on their first day in power if they seize the House majority in November, according to House Majority Leader Steve Scalise.
The warning comes as socialist insurgents reshape the Democratic Party from within — and progressive lawmakers have already introduced a flurry of impeachment resolutions targeting both Trump and his Cabinet.
Scalise’s remarks represent the latest salvo in what has become a central Republican messaging strategy heading into the midterm elections. The Louisiana congressman and second-ranking House Republican has been making the rounds warning voters about what he characterizes as an inevitable impeachment push should Democrats reclaim the speaker’s gavel.
“Democrats aren’t even being shy about it. They’re telling you what they would do. I mean, they’ll impeach the president day one,” Scalise told Fox News Digital.
“They’ll impeach the president day one.”
House Democrats successfully impeached Trump twice the last time they held the majority, though both efforts failed to get him convicted by the Senate. The first impeachment in 2019 centered on Trump’s dealings with Ukraine, while the second came in the wake of the January 6 Capitol riot. Their party leaders have not openly called for impeaching Trump again if they win in November — but Scalise and other Republicans warn it’s the far left that will soon have the reins of the party.
The political calculus for both parties heading into November revolves heavily around perceptions of extremism. Republicans are betting that voters will view Democratic candidates as too far left on key issues, while Democrats have sought to paint Republicans as beholden to Trump and resistant to addressing kitchen-table concerns like inflation and healthcare costs.
The majority leader pointed to a wave of socialist insurgents who toppled Democratic incumbents and establishment-backed candidates in primaries across the country.
This progressive wing has gained significant momentum since the 2018 midterms, when figures like Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez first burst onto the national scene by defeating longtime incumbents in upset primary victories. The movement has only accelerated in subsequent election cycles, with Democratic Socialists of America-backed candidates notching high-profile wins in urban districts and forcing the party’s center of gravity leftward on issues ranging from healthcare to criminal justice reform.
Republicans have seized on the turmoil, arguing their candidates are much closer to where Americans currently are than the socialists leading the leftward shift.
The GOP strategy reflects a broader effort to tie Democratic candidates to positions that polling suggests remain unpopular with swing voters and moderates, particularly in suburban districts that will likely determine control of the House. Republicans have focused their messaging on immigration enforcement, criminal justice, and economic policy as areas where they believe the Democratic base has moved too far from the median voter.
“These are tough members. And these are members who have been working with President Trump to make life more affordable for families all across America, running against socialists,” Scalise said. “Socialists who wanna raise taxes, open the border back up again, bring criminals back in.”
Citing part of the Democratic Socialists of America policy platform, he added: “Defunding prisons? Where are those prisoners gonna go? You know, are they going to take them in their house? This is insane.”
The defund-the-prisons rhetoric Scalise referenced has become a lightning rod in Republican campaign advertising, much as “defund the police” messaging dominated the 2020 and 2022 election cycles. Republicans are aiming to replicate that playbook by highlighting what they characterize as radical policy proposals emerging from the Democratic Party’s progressive flank.
Scalise said Republicans have a real chance to flip seats from Democrat to Republican because voters are rejecting the extreme socialism on the left.
The battle for House control remains highly competitive, with both parties viewing a handful of swing districts as the key to securing a majority. Political analysts note that while Republicans are emphasizing ideological concerns about Democratic candidates, Democrats are focusing their campaigns on reproductive rights, healthcare access, and warnings about potential Republican efforts to cut Social Security and Medicare.
“Go look at [Gov. Paul] LePage in Maine, poised to flip a Democrat seat over to Republican,” Scalise said. “We’ve got seats in Texas and Ohio and Florida — so many other places where we have an opportunity to flip seats from Democrat to Republican because people are rejecting this crazy extreme socialism on the left.”
The seats Scalise referenced span a geographic range that reflects the nationalized nature of the midterm campaign, with both parties testing their messages in diverse political terrain from New England to the Sun Belt.
Fox News Digital reached out to House Democrats’ campaign arm for a response to Scalise’s impeachment comments.
