Rahm Emanuel urges Dems not to impeach Trump if they win the House
Progressive policy ambitions meet practical realities as Americans weigh costs and consequences.
So even Rahm Emanuel is telling Democrats to stand down on impeachment. That's not nothing. The guy has been a party bruiser for decades, and he knows a losing fight when he sees one.
New Republican Times Editorial Board
Video Ex-Obama chief of staff argues Democratic socialists are not Democrats Former Obama chief of staff Rahm Emanuel addresses ideological divisions within the Democratic Party, sharing his perspective on progressive candidates, on ‘Special Report.’ 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.
Former U.S. Ambassador Rahm Emanuel speaks at the Texas Tribune Festival in Austin on Sept. 24, 2026. (Joseph A. Wulfsohn/Fox News Digital) "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.
Rahm Emanuel, a potential Democratic presidential candidate and longtime defender of Israel, speaks at Tel Aviv University, Israel, July 8, 2026. (Ariel Schalit/AP Photos) 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. "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!" 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. "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." Rahm Emanuel and Democratic Michigan Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed. (Bryan Bedder/Getty Images for Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library; Sarah Rice/Getty Images) "So, in effect, you do hope that he wins that race for Democrats," Fox News Digital followed.
Fox News' Joseph Wulfsohn contributed to this report. Anders Hagstrom is a reporter with Fox News Digital covering national politics and major breaking news events.
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New Republican Times Editorial Board
So even Rahm Emanuel is telling Democrats to stand down on impeachment. That's not nothing. The guy has been a party bruiser for decades, and he knows a losing fight when he sees one. His advice to trade the "food fight" for a "comprehensive ethics package" is really an admission that after eight years of investigations, two impeachments, and endless pearl-clutching, they still have nothing on President Trump that would stick. They are out of ammunition, and Emanuel knows it.
The ethics package pitch is almost funny. The same party that spent years claiming Trump was an existential threat to the republic is now proposing a bunch of procedural reforms for the next Congress. That's not a noble pivot. That's a face-saving retreat. If Democrats thought they had a case, they'd bring it. Instead, they are looking at the political math and realizing impeachment would fail in the Senate and fire up Trump's base all over again. Emanuel is being pragmatic, but it's also a surrender.
For anyone who supports this president, the takeaway is simple. The left has spent everything to take him down, and now their own insiders are saying "don't bother." That should be celebrated, but not with too much smugness. The fight isn't over. Democrats will still use ethics bills to hammer at Republican donors and relitigate whatever they can. But the main event is off the table. The impeachment weapon is spent, and even its most devoted users know it. That's a small victory worth noting before the next storm rolls in.
Commentary written with AI assistance by the New Republican Times Editorial Board.