"Not a fetish, not a taboo": Democrats weigh another Trump impeachment (axios.com)

Democrats believe President Trump has committed impeachable offenses. But they're divided over whether they should try to impeach him if they win control of the House. Why it matters: If Democrats win the House, as expected, their 2027 decision on whether to try to impeach Trump could have major consequences for the 2028 presidential race. Zoom in: Theoretically, impeaching Trump would be easy for a unified, Democrat-controlled House. Many top Democrats note that Trump survived a record two impeachments in his first term — and that he'd be unlikely to be removed from office. That would require a two-thirds, bipartisan vote in a Senate that's likely to be closely divided. Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.) said Trump has "already committed numerous impeachable offenses " in his second term, including usurping congressional authority. In 2021, Raskin led the second Trump impeachment, following the Jan. 6 Capitol riot. Raskin said top Democrats are "very sober about what that two-thirds requirement means on the Senate side. If anything, Donald Trump has tightened his control over the Republican Party since the last round. He's gotten rid of the senators that he viewed as not sufficiently loyal and sycophantic." Zoom out: Other Democrats also are cautioning against an impeachment campaign if their party takes control of the House in January. Former Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel, a potential presidential candidate, told NBC's "Meet the Press" last Sunday that he supports investigations, not impeachment, "because it's not going anywhere and it's going to be a food fight." Sen. Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.) said recently: "Don't be impeaching anybody ... Let's just get back to work." Friction point: Democrats' more progressive wing is already talking about an impeachment drive. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) told The Floridian in March: "If you are asking me if I support impeachment, I do. I think that it's on very objective grounds of following the law or not." Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.), a liberal who, like AOC, is weighing a White House run, also has argued for impeachment. " It's about setting a standard," he told NBC News , rejecting the notion that an impeachment would distract Democrats from pushing policy changes. "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." What's next: Trump, who denies wrongdoing, is already preparing for his third impeachment. He told reporters Wednesday that he was "never even worried" about his first two impeachments. "I can do whatever I want, if I want," Trump said, calling the impeachments and subsequent criminal cases against him "very illegal things." "I view the presidency as a very sacred position," he said. "Very sacred position. Very important. Very sacred. A position where it has to be treated properly." Deep down , Trump might welcome an impeachment, one adviser said, "because he's in his element in chaos and when he's bei