WASHINGTON, — Rahm Emanuel is hardly a member of the Donald Trump fan club.
The former Chicago mayor, former Obama White House chief of staff and longtime Democratic power broker has spent decades fighting Republicans and advancing the Democratic Party’s agenda.
But even Emanuel appears to understand something some Democrats still haven’t figured out:
Another impeachment of President Donald Trump isn’t going to fix Washington.
Emanuel said Sunday that Democrats should not pursue another impeachment if they capture control of the House in November’s midterm elections. Instead, he argued his party should conduct legitimate oversight and focus on passing ethics reforms.
Asked directly on NBC News’ “Meet the Press” whether Democrats should begin impeachment proceedings in January if they win the House, Emanuel didn’t dance around the question.
“Short answer: No,” Emanuel said, arguing that another impeachment would go nowhere and devolve into another political “food fight.”
Well, somebody in the Democratic Party finally said it out loud.
Americans have seen this movie before.
Twice.
Trump became the first president in American history to be impeached twice, and the Senate acquitted him both times. Then came investigations, prosecutions, lawsuits and seemingly endless political warfare.
And what happened?
Donald Trump went back to the White House.
Even The Washington Post noted this weekend that Trump survived two impeachments, investigations and prosecutions before winning the presidency again.
That should tell Washington something.
You don’t defeat ideas you disagree with by endlessly trying to remove the person voters elected.
You make your case to the American people.
You win elections.
And then you govern.
Emanuel seems to recognize the political danger of Democrats winning the House and immediately returning to the same anti-Trump playbook Americans have watched for years.
“You’re never going to get an impeachment,” Emanuel said, warning that another attempt would reinforce Americans’ belief that Washington is essentially “Disneyland on the Potomac.”
His alternative is an ethics package.
Emanuel has proposed reforms covering all three branches of the federal government, including restrictions on stock trading and prediction-market betting, blind-trust requirements for officials worth more than $1 million and prohibitions against accepting foreign gifts.
I may disagree with Rahm Emanuel on plenty.
But on one thing, he has a point.
If Democrats win the House, govern.
Pass legislation.
Deal with government spending.
Deal with affordability.
Deal with the border.
Deal with crime.
Deal with health care.
Deal with the national debt.
And yes, if there is legitimate evidence of government corruption, investigate it. Congress has oversight authority for a reason.
But oversight and impeachment are not the same thing.
Impeachment is one of the most serious constitutional powers given to Congress. It was never intended to become the automatic response every time the opposing party controls the House and hates the president.
And Republicans should remember that lesson, too.
This cannot become America’s new normal: One party wins the White House, the other party wins the House, and immediately everybody starts looking for an impeachment resolution.
That isn’t governing.
That’s political trench warfare.
Emanuel’s warning is particularly interesting because he isn’t some moderate Republican asking Democrats to leave Trump alone.
This is Rahm Emanuel.
He served in the Clinton administration. He represented Illinois in Congress. He chaired the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee. He became Barack Obama’s first White House chief of staff, served two terms as mayor of Chicago and later served as U.S. ambassador to Japan under President Joe Biden.
Now Emanuel is increasingly being discussed as a possible 2028 Democratic presidential contender. The Associated Press reported this week that he is among several potential Democratic White House hopefuls making appearances in South Carolina as the next presidential contest begins taking shape.
So pay attention to what he’s doing here.
This isn’t a Trump ally defending Trump.
It is a veteran Democratic political strategist warning his own party not to walk into the same trap again.
Democrats may very well win the House in November. If they do, they will have every constitutional right to investigate the administration, subpoena witnesses where legally appropriate, examine federal spending and demand accountability.
But Emanuel is arguing that they should turn those investigations into actual reforms rather than another impeachment spectacle.
That is a distinction worth making.
Because here’s what Washington keeps forgetting:
The American people hired Congress to work.
Families are looking at grocery bills.
Homeowners are looking at insurance premiums.
Renters are looking at housing costs.
Workers are looking at their paychecks.
Taxpayers are looking at trillions of dollars in federal spending.
And Washington politicians are already talking about what investigation, subpoena or impeachment might come next.
Enough.
We have spent years watching Republicans and Democrats investigate one another while the national debt climbs and ordinary Americans wonder why everything costs so much.
If Democrats win the House, prove you can govern.
If Republicans keep it, prove you can govern.
And if either party believes it deserves the White House in 2028, make the argument to We the People and let the voters decide.
Emanuel understands something his party would be wise to remember:
Another Trump impeachment probably wouldn’t remove Donald Trump from office.
It would almost certainly consume Washington.
It would deepen the country’s political divisions.
And it would give Congress one more excuse for not addressing the problems Americans elected them to solve.
Same old Washington isn’t working.
And for once, Rahm Emanuel appears to be warning Democrats not to do the same old thing again.
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