Trump faces new impeachment call after election integrity speech
Senator Ed Markey called for President Donald Trump‘s impeachment late Thursday after Trump used a prime-time address to argue that the same forces he says stole the 2020 election are now threatening the 2026 midterms.
“Trump must be impeached for undermining and subverting our free and fair elections,” the Massachusetts Democrat wrote on X. “And when he sends ICE agents to the polls, then we must turn civic action into civil disobedience and take to the streets. Sit in. Protest. Withhold our labor. Everything must be on the table.”
During the address, Trump said newly declassified documents showed the Chinese government acquired 220 million American voter files over a five-year period beginning in the 2020 election cycle. He said Beijing wanted him to lose that race and claimed FBI intelligence gathered in 2020 indicated China tried to manufacture illegal ballots for then-candidate Joe Biden, who went on to defeat him.
Critics from both parties said Trump provided no evidence to support his broader claims of widespread election fraud. They also noted that voter information is largely public record or can be purchased from state governments. Trump further accused unnamed members of the “deep state” of working to conceal the extent of Chinese election interference.
Markey has repeatedly called for Trump’s removal from office. In April, after Trump threatened to destroy Iran’s civilization if its leaders refused to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, Markey described the president as “unstable and a clear and present danger” who had to be removed “before he causes incalculable and unfathomable harm.” He also urged the House to approve articles of impeachment, the Senate to convict Trump, and Vice President JD Vance and the Cabinet to consider invoking the 25th Amendment.
Other Democrats echoed Markey’s criticism. Senator Mark Warner of Virginia called Trump’s fraud claims “completely false.” Senator Jon Ossoff of Georgia said Trump was “signaling his plans to” interfere with the election himself. Senator Chris Coons of Delaware said there was “no concrete evidence” that any foreign actor had changed election results.
Trump’s allies pushed back. On his War Room program, Steve Bannon told viewers to “take your No. 2 pencil and mark this down,” predicting that if Democrats pursued another impeachment effort, Director of National Intelligence nominee Jay Clayton “will be one of the first guys to roll over.” Bannon made the remark while criticizing Clayton for declining to say outright that the 2020 election was stolen.
Two impeachment resolutions already await action
Any new impeachment effort faces long odds in the Republican-controlled House, where two Democratic resolutions are already before the Judiciary Committee.
Representative John Larson of Connecticut introduced House Resolution 1155 in April based on articles of impeachment drafted by consumer advocate Ralph Nader and constitutional scholar Bruce Fein. The measure has two cosponsors, Representative Steve Cohen of Tennessee and Representative Bonnie Watson Coleman of New Jersey.
Representative Al Green of Texas, who has introduced impeachment articles against Trump multiple times, filed House Resolution 537 in June 2025. It has one cosponsor, Representative André Carson of Indiana. The House voted to table the resolution shortly after Green forced it to the floor as a privileged motion.
GovTrack estimates each resolution has about a 13 percent chance of advancing out of committee. Trump was impeached twice during his first term, first in 2019 and again in 2021.
The Senate acquitted him both times.
Contact Newsweek editors on this story: Jason Lemon and Gray R. Thomas
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This story was originally published July 17, 2026 at 11:25 AM.