Donald Trump called for Rep. Jamie Raskin to be expelled from Congress on Tuesday after linking the Maryland Democrat to possible future impeachment efforts against him. In a Truth Social post, Trump described Raskin as a “bum” and endorsed a demand from host Mark Levin that Republicans “move to expel” him from the House.
The post landed as Trump, 79, once again turned a fight over impeachment into a personal broadside. The Daily Beast reported that he posted a 195-word tirade against Raskin, saying the congressman “worked endlessly during my First Term to impeach me, and failed miserably, wasting the Country’s money, time, and effort,” and adding that Raskin would “be in jail right now” if former President Joe Biden had not issued sweeping preemptive pardons just before leaving office. Trump also wrote, “I agree with Mark Levin when he says to, EXPEL THE BUM.”
Levin had said that if Raskin continues to “abuse our constitutional system and undermine our electoral process,” Congress should take the “necessary steps” to remove him. Trump’s attack came as Raskin has frequently hinted that Democrats could launch impeachment proceedings if they retake the House in the midterms, giving the president a target before any such vote exists.
Raskin answered on All In with Chris Hayes by saying Trump is “having nightmare flashbacks about impeachment.” He then laid out what he called the simplest path forward: “There’s a very easy way to not get impeached: Stop committing impeachable offenses.” Raskin added, “Stop committing high crimes and misdemeanors,” “Don’t go to war and usurp the powers of Congress to declare war,” “Don’t spend money in a way different from how Congress has appropriated money,” and “Don’t impose illegal taxes and tariffs on the American people without congressional consent.” He finished by saying, “The president needs a basic constitutional primer.”
Expelling a member of Congress takes a two-thirds vote in either the House or the Senate, and it has happened only three times since the Civil War. The last lawmaker removed that way was George Santos in December 2023, after a string of fraud and ethics scandals. Trump’s demand for Raskin’s ouster therefore reads less like an imminent procedural push than another escalation in a fight that has already become a test of how far each side will take the politics of impeachment. The open question is whether House Republicans do anything with it at all, or whether the threat remains what it looks like now: a Trump post aimed at a lawmaker who is already preparing for the next House majority.
