Scoop: Ilhan Omar plots to impeach Signalgate officials
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Rep. Ilhan Omar at a press conference at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 22, 2025. Photo: Kent Nishimura/Getty Images.
Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) is privately proposing articles of impeachment against Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, National Security Advisor Michael Waltz and CIA Director John Ratcliffe, Axios has learned.
Why it matters: It would be the most escalatory Democratic response yet to Signalgate, in which a journalist was mistakenly added to a Signal chat in which top Trump officials discussed military strikes in Yemen.
What we're hearing: The high-profile progressive has been pushing the idea of impeachment among fellow House Democrats, a senior House Democrat and another source familiar with the matter told Axios.
- The senior lawmaker told Axios it is "all being discussed."
- A Democrat leadership aide told Axios that Hegseth should be fired — the step that House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) has called for.
Zoom out: Waltz apparently added Atlantic editor-in-chief Jeffrey Goldberg to the chat, in which Hegseth shared highly sensitive details about military operations against the Houthi rebels in Yemen.
- Some Democrats have accused Ratcliffe and Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard of lying to the Senate Intelligence Committee this week by testifying that they did not believe the chat contained classified information.
- A growing number of Democrats have called for Trump officials to be ousted in response to the scandal, but the administration has been defiant and maintained that no classified information was shared.
Between the lines: Omar could, in theory, force the vote on her own without the assent of Democratic or Republican leadership, through what is known as a privileged motion.
- The mechanism was used and threatened numerous times in the last Congress to push censure, expulsion and impeachment votes.
- It is not clear whether Omar will do that or simply introduce articles of impeachment. Her office did not respond to a request for comment.
Reality check: Any Democratic impeachment effort would be a heavy lift in the House, where Republicans hold a narrow majority.
- In the Senate, conviction and removal is a near-impossiblity. It would require 67 votes, and Republicans control the chamber.
- A second Democratic leadership source said it is an "unlikely scenario" that impeachment will be used as a Democratic tool as long as Republicans control the House.
Editor's note: This story has been updated with additional reporting.
