A House minority that launches an impeachment drive of a president or an administration official is often doing so to inform voters, call attention to misconduct, or to generate attention.
Most minority party impeachment talk goes nowhere because the minority party doesn’t have the votes to do anything. In the House, it is straight majority rule. There is no filibuster or 60-vote rule, like in the Senate.
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In the House, the Speaker has overwhelming control over what comes to the floor, so if the party that has the majority also has the speakership, and almost universal control.
Supporters of the minority party get frustrated and demand that their party do something, but the rules of the House make it difficult for those who lack the votes to do much.
This reality is why so many members of the House quit rather than serve in the minority.
Being in the House minority means members face all the criticism and pressure with none of the power.
When a House majority is inept, small, or both, opportunities arise for the minority do more than most ever get the chance to.
The situation surrounding the potential impeachment of DHS Secretary Kristi Noem is shaping up to be one of those moments.
On Wednesday, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) provided some insight into how Democrats will proceed with Noem’s impeachment.
Mike Johnson’s math problem is that the House Republican majority currently stands at 218 votes. Johnson can’t afford to lose a single vote on any issue.
If the pressure keeps mounting for Noem to go, and Trump refuses to fire her, House Republicans are going to be expected to support an immigration policy that is deeply unpopular with the majority of Americans, and for a Republican majority that is clinging to life, it is only a matter of time until swing seat House Republicans abandon ship and throw Secretary Noem under the bus.
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