Two House Democrats Propose Impeaching Attorney General Todd Blanche
The move signals that Democrats, emboldened by midterm gains, are prepared to test whether Republican Senate votes could be secured to remove a sitting cabinet officer.
Two House Democrats have formally floated the impeachment of Attorney General Todd Blanche, two days after the 2026 midterm elections produced significant Republican losses. Reps. Hank Johnson (D-Ga.) and Deborah Ross (D-N.C.) publicly voiced support for impeachment proceedings against Blanche on Thursday, according to a report published by The Hill on November 6, 2026.
Johnson and Ross are the first House members on record to call for Blanche's impeachment following the midterm results. Their statements were made publicly on Thursday, November 5, 2026, two days after Election Day, according to The Hill's reporting.
The two representatives suggested that Democrats could win enough Republican support in the Senate to remove Blanche from office. The Constitution requires a simple majority in the House to impeach and a two-thirds supermajority in the Senate to convict and remove a federal official. What specific Republican senators, if any, have indicated openness to removal is not established in current public record.
Blanche, a former defense attorney who represented Donald Trump in multiple criminal proceedings, was confirmed as Attorney General following Trump's return to the White House after the 2024 presidential election. His confirmation vote and margin are on record in the Senate Journal for the relevant session.
The timing of the impeachment proposal follows the 2026 midterms, in which Democrats won control of both the House and Senate, according to TCT's prior coverage of the election results. The shift in House control is significant because impeachment proceedings originate in the House, where the new Democratic majority would control the floor schedule and committee assignments.
Impeachment of a sitting cabinet officer is rare but not without precedent. The House impeached Secretary of War William Belknap in 1876. More recently, the House impeached Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas in February 2024 by a vote of 214 to 213, according to the House roll call record for that vote. The Senate voted to dismiss those articles without a trial.
For a successful Senate conviction of Blanche, Democrats would need votes beyond their own caucus, assuming the Senate composition after the 2026 midterms does not provide a two-thirds majority on its own. The precise Senate seat totals following the 2026 midterms, and what margin Democrats hold, would determine how many Republican votes would be required. That figure is calculable from certified election results once all races are called.
Neither Johnson nor Ross has introduced formal articles of impeachment as of the date of this report. The introduction of articles of impeachment requires filing legislation with the House Clerk, which would then be assigned a bill number and referred to the House Judiciary Committee. No such filing appears in the public congressional record as of November 6, 2026.
The grounds cited by Johnson and Ross for impeachment were not fully detailed in The Hill's report. Specific articles of impeachment, if introduced, would state the constitutional basis for the charge, which is typically limited to treason, bribery, or other high crimes and misdemeanors under Article II, Section 4. What conduct, if any, they would allege as the basis for articles is not yet established in a public filing.
What remains unknown is whether House Democratic leadership, including the incoming Speaker, has endorsed or discouraged the effort, whether any Republican House or Senate members have expressed openness to supporting impeachment or conviction, and what specific conduct Johnson and Ross intend to cite as grounds. Formal articles of impeachment filed with the House Clerk would answer the last question. Statements from House Democratic leadership and any Republican responses would address the first two.