Sen. Jon Ossoff (D-GA) told constituents Friday that President Donald Trump has committed impeachable offenses but that political reality would prevent congressional action unless Democrats retake the House.
The first-term lawmaker is the only incumbent Senate Democrat up for reelection in 2026 in a state carried by Trump, with a path to victory that hinges on winning over voters who supported the president and turning out a frustrated Democratic base.
“There is no doubt that this president’s conduct has already exceeded any prior standard for impeachment by the United States House of Representatives,” Ossoff said during a town hall before referencing Trump’s pitch for a chance to score an intimate dinner with him for would-be buyers of his Trump digital meme coin.
“I agree with you, but as I said at the beginning, I also have no choice but to be candid with you about the situation that we face and the tools that are at our disposal,” Ossoff continued. “As strongly as I agree with you, ma’am — and I regret if this is an unwelcome response, but my job is to be honest with you — the only way to achieve what you want to achieve is to have a majority in the United States House of Representatives.”
Ossoff’s impeachment rhetoric came in response to criticism from a town hall attendee questioning whether Democrats were doing enough to resist Trump, a microcosm of a much broader debate roiling the party at the national level.
“You keep saying that there isn’t a magic button, and I recognize that you’re a senator and not in the House, and everything that Trump is doing is putting us down an authoritative rule. Why are there no calls for impeachment? This is unacceptable,” the unidentified woman said. “You can do more. Think outside the box. He needs to be impeached!”
The remarks made Ossoff the first Senate Democrat in Trump’s second term to effectively call for his impeachment.
The campaign arm of Senate Republicans labeled his comments “disgusting.”
“Jon Ossoff said he’s working every single day to overturn the will of Georgia voters who just elected President Trump,” said National Republican Senatorial Committee regional press secretary Nick Puglia. “It’s disgusting and Georgians deserve better than a liberal resistance darling who sides with illegal immigrants and men who want to infiltrate women’s sports.”
Trump was twice impeached by a Democratic-led House during his first term but was twice acquitted by the Senate after it failed to reach a two-thirds majority required for conviction and removal from office.
The Georgia Senate race will be one of the Democrats’ most competitive in the midterm elections and is one of two blue toss-up seats. The party faces a difficult election map that renders retaking control of the chamber virtually impossible.
Ossoff has yet to get a Republican challenger as the national party crosses its fingers that Gov. Brian Kemp (R-GA) will enter. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) is weighing a bid but is seen by national Republicans as a far weaker candidate.
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In addition to Trump’s promise of access to those who purchase his meme coin, Ossoff cited the administration’s resistance to federal court orders as an example of a “corrupt political system” that rises to the level of impeachment.
“Where is everybody who was so furious about Hunter Biden’s paintings, which, by the way, I do not defend,” Ossoff said. “When the sitting president of the United States is selling access for what are effectively payments directly to him, there is no question that that rises to the level of an impeachable offense. The reality is that that’s just one of many.”
