Jan 05, 2026

President Donald Trump is facing impeachment calls from Democrats after his administration launched strikes against Venezuela and captured its President Nicolás Maduro over the weekend.

Newsweek has reached out to the White House for comment on Monday morning via email.

Why It Matters

Trump announced on Saturday that the U.S. captured Maduro and his wife, Cilla Flores, after a “large scale strike” against Caracas. The pair faces charges of narco-terrorism as the administration has blamed Venezuela for the flow of deadly drugs into the United States.

Maduro and his wife have been formally indicted in the Southern District of New York. Maduro had previously been indicted in March 2020 on “narco-terrorism” conspiracy charges in the same district, and in August 2025, the U.S. doubled its bounty to $50 million for information leading to his arrest. Maduro has denied any wrongdoing.

Congress has had mixed reactions to the strikes. Many Republicans cheered the miliary action and have rallied around the president. But some members of both political parties have raised concerns about the legality, as the strikes were not first approved by Congress. Some Democrats in Congress, as well as some who are running in House elections, are saying the strikes rise to an impeachable level. This is a key legal question that Congress will face over the coming weeks and could become an issue in the midterms set for this November.

What to Know

Representative Delia Ramirez, an Illinois Democrat, is among those who have called for Trump to be impeached over the action, which she described in a statement as “illegal, dangerous violations of international and US law that put us all at risk.”

“Trump and his Administration are out of control because they believe they are untouchable. But they are not. There are mechanisms in place to protect Americans from despots, warmongers, and authoritarians. Congress must use them. We must pass Congresswoman Ilhan Omar’s War Powers Resolution that asserts our authorities, and Trump must be impeached,” she wrote.

Representative Dan Goldman, a New York Democrat, wrote in a statement that he views the action as “an impeachable offense.”

Representative Maxine Waters, a California Democrat, told Axios that many Democrats have “understandably questioned whether impeachment is possible again under the current political reality,” and that she is “reconsidering that view.”

Some candidates running for House elections are also weighing in.

State Senator Scott Weiner, a California Democrat running to succeed former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, wrote in a statement that Trump must be “impeached immediately.”

“Trump has no legal authority to invade Venezuela, given lack of authorization by Congress,” he wrote. “This lawless act is yet another impeachable offense by this thug president.”

Kat Abughazaleh, who is running for a House seat in Illinois, said in a video that the president “needs to be impeached, convicted, and removed as soon as humanly possible.”

Brian Kalt, a law professor at Michigan State University, told Newsweek on Monday there is a legal basis for impeachment as, “one could interpret any violation of the constitutional restraints on the presidency as an impeachable offense.” Still, he said it’s unlikely that he will be impeached over this.

“Because the Republicans have the majority in the House, there would need to be some Republicans on board with this. I do not think there are enough Republicans who would be interested in taking so drastic a step, even if they might not agree with the president’s action,” he said, adding that there is also a “zero chance” the Senate will convict.

Kalt said political polarization has made it “easier to impeach, but harder to convict” a president, and that there has been a rise in “futile impeachments.”

“I don’t expect that trend to end anytime soon. If the Democrats win back the House this year, I would not be surprised to see them try to impeach the president or members of his administration, even when it is abundantly clear that they do not have the votes in the Senate to convict,” he said.

Impeachment “would only have legs if there was enough Republican support for this to produce a large majority impeachment vote in the House and a plausible chance for a conviction vote in the Senate, which would require a significant number of Republican Senators to vote to convict,” Robert Y. Shapiro, professor of political science at Columbia University, told Newsweek.

It’s too soon to know the full scope of its political impact, he said. What happens next will be a key question that determines how the action affects the midterms. Any impeachment efforts would face difficult odds in Congress, as Republicans still control the House of Representatives and Senate. It’s unclear whether any Republicans are supportive of impeaching the president at this point.

There were numerous impeachment efforts against Trump during his first term—and he was impeached by the House of Representatives twice, though both efforts failed in the Senate. But Democrats have been less inclined to call for his impeachment during his second term so far. Whether more Democrats continue to join impeachment calls is yet to be seen.

What People Are Saying

Robert Y. Shapiro, professor of political science at Columbia University, told Newsweek: “The benefits are that Congress will be attempting to reassert its power as at least a coequal branch of government.  The drawback is that it is an uphill battle and will show the Democrats’ and Congress’s weakness once again, and Trump will claim being a victim as  a way of trying to rally support.”

Political commentator Kyle Kulinski wrote on X on Sunday: “The fact that I don’t see an immediate move to impeach Trump or use the 25th amendment is terrifying. The lesson he’ll learn is that he can get away with illegal war & regime change. So Greenland, Colombia, Mexico & Panama must prepare IMMEDIATELY. The 4th reich will come for you.”

Senator Chris Van Hollen, a Maryland Democrat, told CBS News on Sunday: “This, from the beginning, has been about getting rid of Maduro, grabbing Venezuela’s oil for American oil companies and Trump’s billionaire buddies. That’s what this is about. That’s why Donald Trump spent so much time yesterday talking about oil.”

Representative Mike Lawler, a New York Republican, backed Trump in an X post on Saturday: “With the decision to capture Nicholas Maduro, a narco terrorist, responsible for the death of thousands of Americans, President Trump has changed the course of history and made America safer. For years, the deadly flow of drugs into our country, has been allowed unimpeded. In one year, President Trump has done more to stop it by declaring the cartels narco terrorists and striking ships transporting these deadly drugs into the US, culminating in today’s arrest of Maduro for prosecution.”

What Happens Next

No articles of impeachment have formally been filed, and it’s unclear whether any member of Congress plans to do so. Kalshi betting odds showed only a 13 percent chance of a Trump impeachment in 2026, though a 50 percent chance by January 1, 2028.

https://www.newsweek.com/donald-trump-impeachment-warnings-issued-after-maduro-capture-11309027