Rep. Ro Khanna (D-CA) said Sunday that a third impeachment of President Donald Trump would be about "setting a standard" of accountability — a remark that lands as the midterm elections approach and Democrats openly weigh what they would do with the House majority.
Khanna made the comments during an appearance on NBC News' "Meet the Press" with Kristen Welker, according to coverage from the Washington Examiner and Yahoo News. Asked whether Democrats should pursue impeachment if they retake the House in November, Khanna rejected the idea of standing down — a position that puts him at odds with at least one of his own Senate colleagues.
Welker noted that Sen. Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) "is warning Democrats against doing that," saying earlier in the week she is not "interested in being in a confrontation with Donald Trump" and that Democrats should simply "get back to work" if they win the lower chamber.
Khanna did not take that off-ramp.
What Khanna Actually Said
Per the Washington Examiner's account, Khanna argued impeachment would uphold "constitutional values" — and he listed specific grievances.
"Impeachment says that you can't get into an illegal war in Iran without constitutional approval," Khanna said. "Impeachment says that you can't just start firing federal employees in defiance of what Congress says. Impeachment says you can't do deals with foreign governments to allegedly enrich your own family. It's about setting a standard."
Khanna added that Democrats could do both: impeach and govern. "The Democrats can impeach to uphold constitutional values and, at the same time, have a first-hundred-day agenda that deals with the cost of living," he said.
Khanna also weighed in on the Strait of Hormuz, calling on the administration to accept Iran's seven-day proposal aimed at reopening the waterway and securing a ceasefire. He said Washington does not need to accept every Iranian condition — "In my view, the biggest thing that we need to give the Iranians is an ironclad commitment that we will not have [a] regime-change war" — and he criticized Trump's recent comments at the United Nations, according to Yahoo News.
Jordan Saw It Coming Hours Earlier
Khanna's remarks did not arrive in a vacuum. Less than a day earlier, Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH) predicted on Sunday that Democrats will impeach Trump a third time if they take the House, per Washington Examiner coverage.
Jordan's forecast now has a named sitting congressman on record confirming the appetite. That is no longer speculation about what the base wants. It is a member of Congress describing a plan.
Jeffries Leaves the Door Open
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) has said senior Democrats on key committees would lead efforts to hold the Trump administration accountable if Democrats win the majority, per Yahoo News. That is the same answer Washington has heard before: accountability framed broadly, with impeachment never fully ruled out.
Republicans will point out that Trump has already been impeached twice. The first came in 2019 over a phone call with Ukraine's president. The second came in 2021 after the January 6 Capitol breach. Both times the Senate acquitted him. A third would be unprecedented in American history — and it would arrive against a president who won the 2024 election decisively.
What It Means for November
Every House Democrat running in a district Trump carried now has to answer a simple question: is your priority inflation, the border, and gas prices — or is it another impeachment trial that the Senate will not convict on? Duckworth already gave Democrats a template for the answer. Khanna gave them a different one.
Republicans have spent months telling voters that a Democratic House means subpoenas, hearings, and gridlock. Khanna just made that argument for them, on national television, with a list of charges attached.
The midterms are in November. Khanna has now told voters exactly what he would do with the gavel. Whether that helps his party or buries it is the question every competitive House Democrat will spend the next six weeks trying to answer.
Our Take
Ro Khanna did us all a favor. He said the quiet part on camera.
Democrats spent months promising voters they would focus on cost of living, the border, and kitchen-table issues. Now one of their more polished messengers has confirmed that the plan includes a third impeachment — not because there is a case, but because they want to "set a standard." That is not accountability. That is a punishment ritual. You do not get to run for Congress promising to lower grocery prices, then spend the first hundred days of your majority relitigating the last election and the one before it.
Notice what Khanna's three examples have in common. Ukraine. Federal employees. Foreign business deals. These are the same failed hits from 2019 and 2021, reheated and served a third time, dressed up as constitutional duty. Two impeachments, two acquittals — that is the record. The American people were told Trump's conduct warranted removal in 2019. Then they watched him win 2024 anyway. The voters already rendered their verdict.
Tammy Duckworth gets it. She told her own party to "get back to work." She is right, and Khanna has now effectively made her the foil inside her own coalition. Republicans should send Khanna a thank-you note.
Here is the only number that matters: does the swing voter in Pennsylvania or Michigan or Wisconsin want their representative spending 2027 on a Senate trial that ends in acquittal, or on the price of eggs? Khanna has given Republicans the answer he is afraid of hearing.
Patriots, mark the date. If Democrats take the House in November, the subpoenas start in January and the articles follow. Khanna just told you so. The question is whether you believe him — and whether your neighbors do too. Volunteer, knock doors, and make every competitive district answer the Khanna question before Election Day.
