Democrats shift from impeachment to Article II challenges vs Trump

Democrats working stubbornly to thwart a second Trump administration appear to have thrown away their playbook from the president’s first administration — and abandoned repeated attempts to impeach the president. Donald Trump In favor of expanding their focus on leveraging Article II of the Constitution to obstruct MAGA policies.

Since the early days of Trump’s second presidency, Democrats have accused him of taking steps that amount to a “blatant abuse of presidential power” or launching an “unlawful seizure of power,” most notably in response to some of the more than 200 executive orders the president signed this term. Lawsuits challenging the administration’s language have also focused on claims that Trump is overstepping his executive authority, sparking some policies that have tied him up in the courts.

Article Two of constitution Lays the foundation for the balance of power between the office of the president and the other branches of government, including the establishment of the executive branch. Section Two of Article Two explains the duties and powers of the President.

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President Donald Trump gestures to a reporter in the Oval Office of the White House, Tuesday, Sept. 30, 2025, in Washington. (Alex Brandon/The Associated Press)

Political opponents have resorted to Article 2 in their legal battles against Trump, repeatedly claiming that he has exceeded his authority.

“Trump derangement syndrome takes many forms — although Democrats failed to stop President Trump’s incredibly populist agenda in his first term, they are trying a new strategy this time and failing,” White House spokeswoman Abigail Jackson told Fox News Digital on Thursday when asked about the increase in claims and lawsuits alleging that Trump is overstepping his presidential limits. once again”.

She continued: “The Supreme Court has consistently upheld the Trump administration’s policies as lawful despite an unprecedented number of legal challenges and illegal rulings issued by lower courts from far-left liberal activist judges.” “The President will continue to implement the policy agenda that the American people voted for in November and will continue to be upheld by the Supreme Courts when liberal activist justices try to intervene.”

Efforts to isolate the first term

Trump’s first administration was highlighted by two impeachment attempts, making Trump the first president in US history to be impeached twice. Trump was acquitted by the Senate both times.

The first impeachment effort in 2019 accused Trump of abuse of power and obstruction of Congress in connection with allegedly seeking foreign interference from Ukraine to consolidate his power. Re-elected Efforts made in 2020.

The focus of that impeachment centered on a July 2019 phone call in which Trump pressured Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to launch investigations into the Biden family’s business dealings in Ukraine, including Hunter Biden’s business dealings with Burisma Holdings. Biden was under federal investigation at the time.

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The House impeached Trump on two articles of impeachment in December 2019, with the Senate voting to acquit Trump on both articles of impeachment in February 2020.

Months later, Democrats prepared further impeachment measures for Trump after the breach of the US Capitol building on January 6, 2021.

Trump set another precedent when the Senate impeached a former president after the House voted to impeach him just a week earlier Joe Biden He was inaugurated as the country’s 46th president. In the end, the Senate acquitted Trump of the case.

The second accusations focused on the breach of the US Capitol by crowds of Trump supporters when the Senate and House of Representatives met to certify Biden’s victory in the 2020 election. Trump was accused of working to overturn the election results and that he incited the insurrection through his election rhetoric before the Capitol breach.

“I will never forgive the people who stormed the Capitol for the trauma they inflicted on our young people, the members of our press who were covering that day, our staff, the maintenance crew, and the people who keep the Capitol neat and clean,” then-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said in an interview on MSNBC in 2022.

She continued: “This was a disgrace. The president incited the insurrection, refused to stop it, and as these films show, he would not, in time, allow the National Guard to come in and stop it. This is a sin.”

The Senate acquitted Trump of incitement of rebellion in February 2021.

The impeachment efforts came after Democrats threatened and pledged to impeach Trump at various stages throughout his first administration.

In this January 6, 2021, file photo, rioters loyal to President Donald Trump storm the Capitol in Washington. (John Minchillo, File/AP)

“I stand today, Mr. President, to call for the impeachment of the President of the United States of America for obstruction of justice. I am not doing this for political purposes, Mr. President. I am doing this because I believe in the ideals that this country stands for — liberty and justice for all, and the idea that we must have government of the people, by the people, and for the people,” Texas Democratic Rep. Al Green declared in May 2017 regarding former FBI Director James Come. Investigation of former National Security Advisor Michael Flynn.

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“It is time to make clear to the American people and to this president that the chain of injury to our Constitution must end through impeachment,” Tennessee Democratic Rep. Steve Cohen said in November 2017 over allegations that Trump obstructed justice when he fired Comey in May 2017.

Legal battles outside offices

Trump’s four years after his first administration were filled with a number of civil and criminal cases, including a trial in New York when he was found guilty of 34 counts of falsifying business records in May 2024.

Attorney General Alvin Bragg’s office worked to prove that Trump falsified business records to conceal a $130,000 payment to former porn star Stormy Daniels before the 2016 election to quell her claims about an alleged affair with Trump in 2006. Trump has maintained his innocence in the case, and after winning the election was sentenced to unconditional release, meaning he did not face prison time or fines.

Trump has also been indicted in Georgia on racketeering charges over allegations he tried to overturn the state’s 2020 election results, which the president has denied. This case was put on hold after District Attorney Fannie Willis was disqualified from prosecuting it.

Former President Trump appears in Manhattan Criminal Court for his hush money trial on May 30 in New York City. Sentencing in this case, in which Trump was convicted, was postponed until November. (Steven Hirsch Paul/Getty Images)

Two of the federal criminal cases were dismissed, including one in which Trump allegedly mishandled sensitive government documents at his Florida home, Mar-a-Lago, after his presidency, as well as another case alleging that Trump tried to overturn the results of the 2020 election. Both cases were overseen by special counsel Jack Smith.

Trump has also faced civil cases, including New York Attorney General Letitia James accusing Trump and the Trump Organization of inflating asset values. In another case, E. Jane Carroll, the former columnist who alleges Trump raped her, said… New York City A department store dressing room in the 1990s accused Trump of defamation in a 2022 case.

Trump has criticized the charges and cases as examples of legal warfare to prevent him from winning a second presidency, claiming victory after winning 2024 but the efforts failed.

“These cases, like all the others I have had to consider, are empty, illegal, and should never have been brought,” Trump wrote on Truth Social in November 2024, when Smith announced he would drop the criminal cases.

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“It was a political hijack, and a low point in our country’s history that such a thing could happen, and yet, against all odds, I persevered and prevailed. Make America Great Again!” Trump added.

Allegations of violation of Article 2 of Chapter 2

It was the second Trump administration with more than 400 lawsuits, according to Just Security’s lawsuit tracker targeting the administration, with many taking issue with Trump’s executive orders and policies as they relate to shrinking the size of the federal government, his policies removing diversity, equity, and inclusion language and initiatives from the federal government, and protecting girls’ sports from including players Biological males, and his various directives to remove millions of illegal players. Immigrants who have flocked to the United States in recent years.

Trump and his administration are carrying out a process of cleansing American cities that have historically been plagued by crime, including working to remove illegal immigrants residing in the cities. Recently, Trump ordered the National Guard to move to Portland, Oregon, in response to “far-left terrorism” in the city, specifically members of the recently designated domestic terrorist organization Antifa.

Federal agents, including members of the Department of Homeland Security, Border Patrol and police officers, try to keep protesters outside a US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) facility downtown on October 6, 2025, in Portland, Oregon. (Spencer Platt/Getty Images)

Trump is deploying federal resources, the White House said in an announcement. “The radical left’s reign of terror in Portland now ends, with President Donald J. Trump mobilizing federal resources to stop the Antifa-led hellfire in its tracks. While Democratic politicians deny reality, it is clear that what is happening in Portland is not a protest; it is deliberate chaos that has scarred the city for years.” “Which led to officers being beaten, citizens being intimidated, and property being destroyed.” Portland on September 30.

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“What President Trump is trying to do is an abuse of power,” Democratic Oregon Governor Tina Kotick said in September, commenting on Trump’s order to deploy troops in Portland. “It is a threat to our democracy. Governors should be in command of their National Guard, our citizen soldiers who stand ready in emergency situations to deal with real problems,” he added.

The state of Oregon has filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration regarding the matter, claiming that Trump lacks the authority to deploy the National Guard.

U.S. District Judge Karen Immergut issued a temporary restraining order halting Trump’s plan to deploy 200 National Guard troops to Oregon, then again on Sunday expanded the order to prevent the administration from deploying any National Guard units from any state to Oregon pending further action. Immergut decided that Trump’s order may have exceeded his presidential authority.

The White House responded that Trump was within the limits of his presidential powers.

“I think her opinion is not constrained by reality and the law,” Leavitt told reporters at a White House news conference. “The president is using his authority as commander in chief, under 12 U.S. Code 406, which clearly states that the president has the right to call up the National Guard and in cases where he sees fit…. The ICE facility was really under siege. And through these anarchists outside, they were disrespecting law enforcement. They were inciting violence.”

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The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals overturned the Immergut ruling that barred Oregon National Guard troops from deploying to Portland, but another ruling barring any National Guard troops from deploying to Portland remains in effect.