WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump warned Republican lawmakers on Tuesday that failure to retain control of Congress in this year’s midterm elections could lead to his impeachment, renewing his long-running claims of political targeting by Democrats.
Speaking at a House GOP retreat at the Kennedy Center—recently renamed to include Trump’s name following action by a board dominated by his appointees—the president urged unity and electoral victory among Republican members.
“You got to win the midterms because if we don’t win the midterms, it’s just going to be, I mean, they’ll find a reason to impeach me. I’ll get impeached,” Trump said.
Trump was impeached twice during his first term in office. In 2019, the House impeached him on charges of abuse of power and obstruction of Congress over allegations that he pressured Ukraine’s president to interfere in the 2020 election. In January 2021, he was impeached again for incitement of insurrection following the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol. He was acquitted by the Senate in both cases.
“I got impeached twice on nothing,” Trump said, delivering the remarks on the fifth anniversary of the Jan. 6 attack.
Looking ahead to the 2026 elections, Trump acknowledged the historical challenges facing the president’s party during midterm cycles but insisted that Republican policies remain superior to those of the Democratic Party.
“They say that when you win the presidency, you lose the midterm,” Trump said, before adding, “We have the right policy. They don’t. They have a horrible policy. They do stick together.”
The president continued his criticism of Democrats and former Democratic presidents, while dismissing anticipated backlash to his remarks. “Now, I won’t say cancel the election… because the fake news will say, ‘He wants the elections canceled. He’s a dictator.’ They always call me a dictator,” Trump said.
Trump also highlighted the Republican Party’s narrow control of the House of Representatives, which he said has complicated legislative efforts. The GOP majority has reportedly shrunk to a two-seat margin following the unexpected death of California Rep. Doug LaMalfa and the early retirement of Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene earlier this week.
Despite the tight numbers, Trump voiced strong support for House Speaker Mike Johnson, who attended the retreat. “He’s tough as anybody in the room, actually. But you can’t be tough when you have a majority of three. And now, sadly, a little bit less than that,” Trump said.
Health care is expected to be a central issue in the midterm campaign, particularly after enhanced Affordable Care Act (ACA) subsidies expired at the end of 2025. Trump renewed his criticism of the ACA, also known as Obamacare, and reiterated his preference for direct government payments to individuals for health care coverage.
“Let the money go in a health care account or however you do it. Let the money go directly to the people,” he said.
Trump also urged Republicans to adopt a more pragmatic approach to abortion policy, particularly regarding the Hyde Amendment, which prohibits federal funding for abortion services.
“Now, you have to be a little flexible on Hyde… You’ve got to use ingenuity. You’ve got to work. We are all big fans of everything, but you’ve got to be flexible,” Trump said.
The president did not elaborate on how such flexibility should be implemented, leaving questions about the administration’s specific policy direction as the midterm elections approach.
Edgardo Hernal started college at UP Diliman and received his BA in Economics from San Sebastian College, Manila, and Masters in Information Systems Management from Keller Graduate School of Management of DeVry University in Oak Brook, IL. He has 25 years of copy editing and management experience at Thomson West, a subsidiary of Thomson Reuters.
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