Trump Slapped with 26 Articles of Impeachment Covering Iran, Pardons
President Trump has been hit with 26 articles of impeachment, the largest number ever filed against a sitting president in American history.
The articles were introduced in September by Rep. Steve Cohen, a Democrat from Memphis, Tennessee, and a senior member of the House Judiciary Committee, the panel that handles impeachment. Cohen is in his final months in Congress and is not running for reelection, which gives the filing the feel of a parting statement after nearly two decades in the House.
Newsweek reported that the resolution accuses Trump of abuses of power, violations of his oath of office and a sweeping range of other alleged misconduct. Cohen has called him "the most impeachable president." The filing is the latest in a series of impeachment resolutions from House Democrats since Trump returned to office in January 2025.
The list is long. One article charges that Trump waged war on Iran without approval from Congress, which under the Constitution holds the power to declare war. Others cover presidential pardons, immigration policy, the use of the military at home, tariffs, federal spending and cuts to the federal workforce. The resolution also targets actions involving universities, law firms and the press, including reporters removed from the White House and pressure on CBS and ABC. It cites the prosecutions of James Comey, Letitia James and Adam Schiff, the demolition of the East Wing, and claims that the president has profited personally from the office.
For comparison, the House adopted 11 articles against President Andrew Johnson in 1868. Cohen's filing more than doubles that record. Most modern impeachments have been far narrower, built around one or two central charges.
Reaction split sharply along party lines. Supporters of the president called it political theater from a lame-duck congressman with nothing to lose. Conservative outlets argued that many of the articles describe policy disagreements, not high crimes, and that voters, not impeachment, are the proper check on decisions about tariffs, immigration or spending. Some described the filing as an attempt to treat ordinary conservative policy as an impeachable offense.
Cohen's supporters see it differently. They say Congress has a duty to put its objections on the record, whether or not a vote ever follows, and that history will judge the conduct described in the articles.
The math is not on Cohen's side. With Republicans holding the House majority, the resolution faces long odds of ever reaching a floor vote. Even if the House impeached, removal from office would require a two-thirds vote in the Senate, a bar no president has ever been removed under.
Trump was impeached twice during his first term, in 2019 over Ukraine and again in 2021 after January 6. The Senate acquitted him both times.
For now, the 26 articles stand mainly as a record of grievances from one side of the aisle, filed as the country heads toward the midterm elections.
Should Congress spend time on this resolution? YES OR NO?
