On Sunday, former President Donald Trump called for repercussions against House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries after the Brooklyn Democrat criticized the Supreme Court’s decision to invalidate Louisiana’s congressional map, which also weakened Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act.
Trump took to Truth Social to express his outrage, labeling Jeffries as having “low IQ” and questioning his remarks about the Supreme Court being “illegitimate.” Trump provocatively asked, “Isn’t he subject to impeachment for such a statement? I was impeached for what was deemed a PERFECT PHONE CALL.”
He further urged Republicans, “Where are you? Why not initiate the process? They’ll soon be targeting me!”
It’s crucial to note that impeachment is not applicable to members of Congress. This process is specifically designed for presidents, judges, and high-ranking officials within the judicial and executive branches.
For lawmakers, Congress has a distinct expulsion procedure that necessitates a two-thirds majority vote. Historically, only six House members have been expelled, with the most recent being George Santos, a Republican from Long Island, in December 2023.
Responding on X, Jeffries dismissed Trump’s comments as “Jeffries Derangement Syndrome,” illustrating the political tensions at play.
Jeffries could turn into the president’s greatest headache during his final two years in the White House should Democrats retake the lower chamber in the Nov. 3 midterm elections.
While the top House Democrat has downplayed plans to impeach Trump, Republicans widely expect Dems to try and do so if they retake the House and are anticipating a flurry of subpoenas from the top committees in Congress.
Trump was impeached twice, once in 2019 over accusations he pressured Ukraine into probing the Biden family via a “perfect phone call” with Kyiv President Volodymyr Zelensky.
The president was also impeached for allegedly inciting the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol riot. Ultimately, Trump was acquitted by the Senate on both occasions.
In February, Trump had raged against the Supreme Court for slapping down his International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) tariffs, fuming that some of the justices “sicken me.”
“They’re very unpatriotic and disloyal to our Constitution,” Trump told reporters after the decision. “It’s my opinion that the court has been swayed by foreign interests and a political movement that is far smaller than people would ever think.”
Last week, it was the Democrats who were outraged by the Supreme Court following its ruling that Louisiana had practiced unconstitutional racial gerrymandering by drawing a second majority-black district..
“Today’s decision by this illegitimate Supreme Court majority strikes a blow against the Voting Rights Act,” Jeffries said after that decision. “The extremists have completely and totally failed America. So they’ve concluded, aided and abetted by the Trump Court, that they have to cheat to win.”
