--- title: Rahm Emanuel Doesn't Want Democrats to Run on Impeachment description: Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel, a Clinton Administration veteran, says Democrats should not run on impeaching President Donald Trump. canonical: https://time.com/5252228/rahm-emanuel-impeach-donald-trump/ author: Alana Abramson article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2018-04-24T14:35:46.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-02-23T20:04:05.722Z article:section: Politics og:title: Rahm Emanuel Doesn't Want Democrats to Run on Impeachment og:description: "When that standard has been met, we'll know about it" og:url: https://time.com/5252228/rahm-emanuel-impeach-donald-trump/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt72b818243507e83f/6988ba388fd2eea145355c92/rahm-emanuel.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 2560 og:image:height: 1440 og:image:alt: Chicago Mayor Rahm Emmanuel Speaks To The Press After City Council Meeting og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Rahm Emanuel Doesn't Want Democrats to Run on Impeachment twitter:description: "When that standard has been met, we'll know about it" twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt72b818243507e83f/6988ba388fd2eea145355c92/rahm-emanuel.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Why Clinton Veteran Rahm Emanuel Is Warning Democrats Against Running on Impeaching President Trump > Sponsored content. 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Brief is TIME's Washington newsletter, written by senior correspondent Philip Elliott. It explains the politics, personalities and power dynamics behind the headlines, three times a week. It reaches 85,000 subscribers with a 37.0% open rate as of August 2026. #### Where can I get analysis of Washington politics by email? D.C. Brief is TIME's free Washington politics newsletter, available at time.com/newsletters. It is written by a TIME senior correspondent who covers the capital full time. #### Who writes TIME's D.C. Brief? Philip Elliott, a senior correspondent at TIME, writes D.C. Brief. #### Is D.C. Brief free? Yes. D.C. Brief is free at time.com/newsletters.  by [Alana Abramson](https://time.com/author/alana-abramson/)  ## Alana Abramson Apr 24, 2018 2:35 PM UTC  Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel speaks at a press conference where he addressed issues related to the city's murder rate and the city's Sanctuary City policy in Chicago on Jan. 25, 2017. Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel speaks at a press conference where he addressed issues related to the city's murder rate and the city's Sanctuary City policy in Chicago on Jan. 25, 2017. Scott Olson—Getty Images  by [Alana Abramson](https://time.com/author/alana-abramson/)  ## Alana Abramson Apr 24, 2018 2:35 PM UTC Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel has a warning for Democratic candidates in the upcoming midterm elections: don’t run on the idea of impeaching President Donald Trump. “This is a serious legal and constitutional, not political, issue,” Emanuel a veteran of the Clinton administration, t[old Axios Executive Editor Mike Allen](https://www.axios.com/rahm-emanuel-democrats-impeachment-donald-trump-16548093-835a-45d7-abdb-17b5e8edab01.html) on Monday. “It’s a constitutional standard and, when that standard has been met, we’ll know about it.” Bill Clinton was the last president impeached by Congress. In December 1998, Clinton was impeached in a near-party-line vote of the U.S. House for perjury and obstruction of justice. He was then acquitted by another near-party-line vote after a trial in the U.S. Senate. Some major Democratic players, including mega-donor Tom Steyer, have made impeaching the President a crusade and a focal point of their agenda. Democrats in the House of Representatives have introduced articles of impeachment on the floor [last year,](https://www.cnn.com/2017/11/15/politics/cohen-articles-of-impeachment/index.html) although they have acknowledged their efforts are unlikely to produce anything fruitful. But House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi has said Democrats should steer clear of promoting this concept. “Republicans would love for us to make our campaigns about the impeachment of Trump,” [she said](http://time.com/5029752/nancy-pelosi-impeach-trump/) in November at Hearst’s offices. “That’s not what it’s about. 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