President Trump will be impeached if Republicans lose their rule over the House of Representatives as a result of the Nov. 6 midterm elections, former White House chief strategist Steve Bannon said.
Appearing on HBO’s “Real Time with Bill Maher,” Mr. Bannon referred to the midterms as “Trump’s first re-election” and suggested Democrats will try to remove the president from office if they win control of Congress.
“If we lose the House, he’s gonna be impeached — this is a referendum on him,” said Mr. Bannon.
A former member of both Mr. Trump’s election campaign and administration, Mr. Bannon made the prediction with weeks to go until voters cast ballots in House and Senate races throughout the country, putting control of Congress on the line and possibly the presidency.
Republicans currently have 236 of 435 seats in the House to the Democratic Party’s 193, but a so-called “blue wave” in November could cost the GOP its control and put the rival party in line to pursue the president’s removal.
The U.S. Constitution affords the House power to impeach federal officials, including the president, by majority vote, meaning Democrats stand a chance at voting out Mr. Trump if the party controls 218 seats or more as a result of the midterms.
Any person impeached in the House would subsequently be subject to trial by the Senate, where Republicans hold 51 of 100 seats.
Mr. Bannon, 64, previously served as chairman of Breitbart News before joining Mr. Trump’s campaign in 2016. He parted ways with the White House last August.
• Andrew Blake can be reached at ablake@washingtontimes.com.
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