WASHINGTON – Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.) hasn't given up on resistance.
The former constitutional law professor, who is in line to lead the House Judiciary Committee if Democrats win back control of the House of Representatives in November, does not need to be reminded of how other efforts to hold President Donald Trump accountable through Congress or the justice system have gone.
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Raskin played a leading role in the second of two impeachments of Trump, both of which failed to result in a Senate conviction. He watched investigations into the president's effort to overturn the election falter on the federal level and in Georgia, and saw a felony conviction in New York that did nothing to keep him out of office.
But from his perch as the committee's top Democrat, Raskin has responded to the ramped-up corruption of Trump's second term by pelting the administration with letters and resolutions signaling possible areas of inquiry for a subpoena-powered investigation. He's also emerged as a top-tier campaign surrogate, barnstorming around the country for Democratic candidates.
In an interview late on Friday night, while he was on his way to Iowa after spending several days campaigning in Michigan, Raskin freely tossed around the i-word.
"There are certainly more than a dozen impeachable offenses," he told HuffPost.
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He pointed to Trump launching a war without congressional authorization, usurping lawmakers' power to direct federal spending, improperly laying taxes on foreign goods, vindictively directing prosecutions against his political enemies, and inappropriately profiting off the crypto industry while pardoning convicted fraudsters.
Trump, who is now fully consumed with building his legacy, has repeatedly talked about getting impeached if Republicans lose the midterms.
"I'm going to be impeached. They're going to impeach me. They have no idea why," Trump said during a campaign event last month.
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Yet any push for impeachment, beyond facing lockstep Republican opposition, will likely face some skepticism from Democrats.
"We have to identify where, exactly, impeachment and trial and conviction fit into the complete legislative and policy agenda of the country," Raskin said. "Maybe it's the number one most important thing, or maybe it's the eighth most important thing, or maybe we don't know yet, and that's why I say impeachment is not a ****** with us."
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Democratic voters, at times, have seemed tired of false hope of accountability. Rep. Diana DeGette (D-Colo.), who helped Raskin manage Trump's second impeachment, lost her primary to a democratic socialist. Alexander Vindman, a key witness against Trump during his first impeachment, lost a Democratic primary for a U.S. Senate seat earlier this month despite a significant fundraising advantage. Rep. Dan Goldman (D-N.Y.), who rose to prominence as majority counsel during Trump's first impeachment, lost his primary to a former member of the Democratic Socialists of America.
The possibility of ousting Trump from office set Democratic voters on fire in the run-up to the 2018 midterms, but economic concerns are driving the party's messaging in 2026. One anonymous House Democrat told Axios last month that impeachment is "old hat" — especially when it doesn't result in the president getting thrown out of office. Another said, "If all we do is go back to the failed strategy of impeachment, we will find ourselves back in the minority pretty quickly."
Top House Democrats have downplayed the possibility of any urgent rush to get Trump.
"We haven't ruled anything in and we haven't ruled anything out," House Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries said on CNN last week, indicating Raskin and House Oversight Committee Chair Robert Garcia (D-Calif.) would take the lead and that they would only follow facts.
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The Marylander understands the skepticism.
"When we contemplate impeachment, we have to be realistic about the Republican Party as an authoritarian cult of personality," Raskin said. "Democrats in Congress have proven that we are not afraid of impeachment in any way. At the same time, having been through the prior two, we also understand it's not a panacea."
Raskin, however, appears to be the rare Democrat with the capability to unite the party's various factions. He has the respect of both leadership and the party's progressive base.
"I consider him a mentor of mine, and a lot of people do," said Rep. Maxwell Frost (D-Fla.), a vice chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus and the youngest member of Congress at 29. "He's a bridge builder. He's a coalition builder."
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Garcia, who leapfrogged more senior Democrats to succeed Raskin as top Democrat on the House Oversight Committee last year when Raskin switched to the Judiciary Committee, told HuffPost he framed an encouraging note Raskin passed him during a committee hearing in his first term.
"He's like a legend in the Congress and I've very much tried to kind of live up to the way he conducts business," Garcia said.
Since last year, Raskin has campaigned hard for other Democrats, visiting 22 states for events with progressives and moderates alike, including in Republican-leaning areas, a tour that included stops in four states just in August. Campaigning and fundraising — Raskin has raised $3 million for Democrats — are things party leaders expect of their big committee leaders.
"I'm doing whatever I can to help these people in red districts, and we got a big blue wave coming in, and if they tell me they think I can get them 500 votes or raise them $100,000, how can I say no?" he said. "Our official Democratic organizations are very slow to get behind people who are in the more long-shot districts, so I have a special place in my heart for those people."
Last week, Raskin joined Callie Barr for an event in Traverse City, Michigan, where she's running against Republican Rep. Jack Bergman in a solidly red district. Barr is one of a dozen beneficiaries of Raskin's "impossible-to-inevitable" fundraising project. Her campaign touted Raskin's visit and "inspiring message" on social media.
"I've served with Jamie for a decade, but he doesn't represent the values that we have in Northern Michigan," Bergman, a retired Marine Corps lieutenant general who's held his seat since 2017, told HuffPost.
But Raskin sees a collapse of Trump's "Make America Great Again" movement, creating an opportunity for credible, homegrown candidates like Barr, a Traverse City native and former high school English teacher.
"I was on the road for nine days. I did not see a single MAGA hat or a single MAGA sign anywhere, and I was in mostly rural districts," Raskin said, referring to his swing through Michigan, which included campaign events with progressive Democratic Senate nominee Abdul El-Sayed and Rep. Hillary Scholten (D-Mich.).
It's possible Raskin is right about the door opening for a new generation of candidates. Trump's approval rating has cratered, and he's pursued a foreign war that raised gas prices in an almost perfect repudiation of his entire 2024 campaign message. Republicans themselves have questioned the president's priorities and his insistence on making himself the centerpiece of their midterm messaging.
"People are really angry at Trump, and meantime, he's spending all of his time on, you know, gilded bathrooms and turning the Reflecting Pool into the 'strait of warm ooze,' and scrawling his name on the Kennedy Center, and ripping off the taxpayers, and people know it," Raskin said.
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