Kamala Harris advises Democrats against impeaching Trump, saying 'the votes aren't there'

Former Vice President Kamala Harris has said it would not be a good idea for Democrats to move toward impeaching President Donald Trump even if they regain control of Congress in the midterm elections. Breaking with part of her party's left flank in a Wednesday interview, she said time and resources should go into investigations and accountability instead of impeachment.

Aaron Parnas, host of 'The Parnas Perspective,' asked Harris what she would recommend Congress do if Democrats regain control after the midterms: take the investigations route and potentially an impeachment one day, or pass policy and force the president to veto it. Harris replied: 'I think that going in the direction of impeachment is not a good idea. OK, just to be honest with you. Because we have limited resources and I think the energy and the resources need to be put into accountability, need to be put into investigations and that's where the time should be spent.'

Harris also pointed to the arithmetic of the Senate. 'Remember I was in the Senate for the last go-round and the votes aren't there, right? So that's how I feel,' she said. Trump was impeached twice by the House during his first term in office but was acquitted in the Senate on both occasions, and conviction requires a Senate majority Democrats do not have.

In the interview, Harris said Democrats need to focus on getting things done and should be 'ruthless.' She explained: 'When I say we should be ruthless, I don't mean cruel, but we should be uncompromising and not sit around being genteel about the relationships and instead actually get stuff done.' She cited restoring the Medicaid cuts and restoring some check and balance 'around this war nobody wants.'

Her stance sets her apart from some in her party. Some Democrats in Congress have pushed again to impeach Trump. Representative Al Green of Texas forced a vote on a resolution to impeach Trump over his administration's immigration enforcement policies, including the deaths of people during federal immigration operations earlier this year. The move divided House Democrats, whose leaders have largely avoided emphasizing impeachment as they work to regain control of Congress in the November midterms.

By contrast, Florida Democratic Senate candidate and state Representative Angie Nixon said in an interview with Politico that she would not oppose impeachment hearings and would vote to remove Trump if elected.

Comedian and host Jon Stewart sounded a similar note to Harris during a question-and-answer segment on his 'The Weekly Show' podcast. Asked whether Democrats should seek to impeach Trump if they regain control of Congress, he said he wanted Democrats to make a full-scale effort to rebalance the economy rather than hold performative hearings, saying he did not want to see a 'five-act performative play' of hearings that would not actually bring accountability.

Costas Panagopoulos, a professor of political science at Northeastern University, said there will be enormous pressure to seek accountability if Democrats win control of either or both chambers, but the push to make things better for the American people may be even more intense. In his words, voters want justice and accountability, but they want affordable gas and groceries more.

Republican strategist Liz Mair, head of Mair Strategies, also said Harris was right. She argued Democrats will win the midterms because of swing voters, and those voters do not want the party to spend the next two years impeaching the president; they want Democrats to focus on bringing costs down or at least limiting ongoing price hikes.