A majority of registered voters now say Congress should impeach President Donald Trump, according to a new national poll, including a slice of Republicans who want to see impeachment proceedings begin.
The survey found that 52% of registered voters support impeaching Trump, while 40% oppose it. Support included 14% of Republicans, according to the poll commissioned by Free Speech For People, Newsweek reports.
Lake Research Partners conducted the survey of roughly 800 voters, with a margin of error of about 3.9 percentage points. Because the poll was commissioned by an organization advocating impeachment, its findings should be viewed in that context.
Still, the partisan divide is striking.
Among Democrats, 84% said they support impeachment and 8% opposed it. Independents backed impeachment by 55% to 34%.
Republicans went sharply in the other direction, with 81% opposing impeachment and 14% supporting it.
The poll comes as Democrats and some members of Congress are again pushing impeachment proceedings against Trump over his handling of the Iran conflict and other actions.
Rep. John Larson, a Connecticut Democrat, filed articles of impeachment against Trump in April and on Sept. 15 voted to advance them. Larson has cited the Iran war, the domestic deployment of the military and other alleged abuses of presidential power among his grounds for impeachment.
Trump’s escalating rhetoric toward Iran has become part of that political fight.
On April 7, as he pressed Iran to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, Trump warned that “a whole civilization will die tonight” if Tehran failed to meet his deadline. He also threatened attacks on Iranian bridges and power plants. Later that day, he agreed to a two-week ceasefire tied to reopening the strategic waterway.
Trump’s first presidency already produced two House impeachment votes.
The House impeached him in 2019 over his dealings with Ukraine and again in 2021 after the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol. The Senate acquitted him both times. During the second trial, 57 senators voted to convict, including seven Republicans — three votes short of the two-thirds majority required for conviction.
That history is worth remembering because public support for impeachment and the ability to actually remove a president are two very different things.
Right now, Republicans control Congress, making an impeachment effort a steep political and procedural challenge. The House majority is extremely narrow, while the Senate remains under Republican control. Cook Political Report previously described the House as 218 Republicans to 214 Democrats with three vacancies.
Larson, meanwhile, has made clear that he intends to keep pushing the issue.
After the Sept. 15 vote, he said Trump had “blown past every requirement” for removal and vowed that impeachment proceedings would move forward if Democrats regain control of the House.
For now, the new poll offers a snapshot of public sentiment: Americans can want impeachment. Congress still has to actually do it.
