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President Donald Trump’s threats to wipe out Iran, including language calling Iran “a whole civilization,” ended the restraint Democrats had mostly shown in debating whether to remove him from office in his second term, according to a report describing the reaction in Congress. The push gained momentum even after Trump later pulled back on the threat and agreed to a two-week ceasefire with Iran, which Democrats said did not negate the gravity of what was said.
By the dozens, Democrats came out publicly to argue Trump should no longer serve, either through impeachment or through the 25th Amendment process, which allows the vice president and the Cabinet to declare that a president is no longer able to perform the job. The episode, lawmakers and party figures said, also reflected growing pressure from the Democratic base and from constituents alarmed by the scale and tone of the president’s remarks.
Rep. Sara Jacobs, a California Democrat, told reporters at the Capitol that Democrats “cannot excuse what the president said as a negotiating tactic.” She added that even though a ceasefire was reached, Democrats should hold the president accountable for what he threatened, saying “threatening genocide is not just against international law, it’s against our federal law, too.”
The report also described how Democratic leaders and many moderates have so far steered clear of endorsing impeachment, in part because any effort would likely fail while Republicans control Congress. In the near term, Democratic leadership in both the House and Senate instead pressed for Republicans to join them in passing legislation that would force Trump to seek congressional approval before carrying out any more attacks on Iran.
A few Democrats tried during a brief House session on Thursday to advance what’s known as a war powers resolution on Iran, but Republicans, who control the chamber, did not acknowledge the request. Democratic Rep. Emily Randall of Washington said, “We need Speaker Johnson to call us into session,” adding, “The American people deserve that.”
At the White House, Trump’s press secretary, Karoline Leavitt, defended the president’s rhetoric as effective. Speaking at a Wednesday press briefing, she said she considered the threat “a very, very strong threat from the president of the United States that led the Iranian regime to cave to their knees and ask for a ceasefire and agree to reopening the Strait of Hormuz.”
Behind the lawmakers’ arguments, the report said congressional offices were bombarded with phone calls and emails this week, largely from people alarmed by Trump’s language. It said the calls often focused on Iran and also included requests that Democrats pursue impeachment or removal through the 25th Amendment, with one aide describing an unusually high volume of communications to Rep. Suzan DelBene’s office in Washington state during Monday and Tuesday, and saying the number reached 75 new voicemails on Iran an hour after staff took a break on Tuesday.
The report also quoted Rep. Maxine Dexter, D-Ore., at a press conference in Portland, urging House colleagues to return to Washington quickly. It said her office received more calls on Tuesday—257—than it had ever received in a 24-hour period since her first term began keeping track, and it characterized the surge as appearing organic rather than the result of an organized campaign.
A Democratic strategist described the groundswell as driven by alarm at what Trump was saying and the scale of the president’s threats rather than by a coordinated flood of specific talking points. It also said Republicans were taking cues from some on the political right, including former Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, who suggested Trump should be removed through the 25th Amendment.
Democrats have impeached Trump twice for actions from his first term, but the report said he was acquitted both times, and Democrats have tried for more than a year to avoid impeachment fights while focusing on other messaging priorities. Republicans have maintained majorities in the House and fended off previous second-term impeachment efforts, including the House blocking impeachment resolutions sponsored by Rep. Al Green, D-Texas, with many Democrats voting present or joining Republicans.
Still, the report said some Democrats moved quickly after Trump’s Tuesday morning remarks, including Rep. Seth Moulton, who argued Trump had committed an impeachable offense. “Temporary ceasefire or not, Trump already committed an impeachable offense. Congress needs to get back to work and remove him from office before he does more damage to our country and the world,” he said, describing his experience as a veteran of the war in Iraq.
The report said it was unclear how House Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries would handle demands for another impeachment push, but it described a plan for Jeffries and House Judiciary Committee members to hold a call Friday focused on “Trump administration accountability and the 25th Amendment.” It also described Rep. Madeleine Dean of Pennsylvania as supporting impeachment but saying Democrats should hit pause while they are in the minority, urging Republicans instead to stand up to Trump’s threats, including by invoking the 25th Amendment.
Dean predicted that Democrats’ imperative to remove Trump would only grow as negotiations proceed toward a fragile peace framework. She also criticized Trump’s plan as “chaotic” and said the president’s threat to destroy Iranian civilization should have already been enough, adding: “The president brought the entire globe to watch his madness.”