Democrats' shadow Cabinet should start impeachments now

RFK and Gabbard, among others, have behaved in ways that demand action.

It is time for House Democrats to unleash their secret weapon: impeachment. Not because there will be much chance of success, and not against President Donald Trump himself. But to highlight the horrors and depredations of the worst Cabinet members in history, who are causing death and destruction, threatening human lives and safety, destroying the rule of law and undermining American national security. That means, to start, Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, Attorney General Pam Bondi, and Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem.

Why impeachment? There are many reasons, but let’s start with the brutal reality that the misconduct and outrages of these monsters has not penetrated the broader public consciousness and the culpability of Republicans in the Senate is being ignored. There are plenty of outraged tweets and comments on Blue Sky and Threads, and multiple strong segments on MSNBC and other cable and broadcast outlets. But given the number of stories and a public often tuned out and not understanding who is responsible, especially with Trump’s ”flood the zone” approach, something more dramatic and focused is needed.

Impeachment has a particular power. Under House rules, impeachment resolutions are highly privileged and supersede any other pending business. Speaker Mike Johnson can’t use the Rules Committee or other subterfuge to block them from coming to the floor and forcing an hour of debate—and possibly votes on each article of impeachment—and each of these people require several articles. The votes themselves can potentially be thwarted procedurally with motions to table, but those, combined with debate, will force House Republicans to take a stand—for example, endorsing and supporting RFK’s deadly move to block the Covid vaccine from children and other vulnerable populations, from spreading vile and dangerous conspiracy theories, from firing competent health professionals, and from stopping vital research on cancer and other deadly diseases; and endorsing Gabbard outing an undercover CIA agent, eviscerating our intelligence capability, and more.

This set of actions needs to be coupled with my previous roadmap that included creating a shadow Cabinet. So here is what I would like to see done: Shadow HHS Secretary Atul Gawande would headline a morning press conference, flanked by Rep. Rosa DeLauro, Sen. Patty Murray, and other key members, outlining the case against Kennedy. DeLauro would introduce the impeachment resolution and lead the hour of debate, including in it key health panel members like Diana DeGette, Madeleine Dean, and physician representatives such as Ami Bera, Herb Conaway, Maxine Dexter, Kelly Morrison, Raul Ruiz, and Kim Schrier. That would be followed by every House and Senate Democrat using every avenue, including floor time and special orders, to go through every horrid action, statement and lie by Kennedy and what it means for Americans’ health and safety. And by blanketing TV, radio and social media. Even Fox would have to cover it! I would make it a theme for an entire week. It is even possible that one of the less timorous members of the White House press corps might ask Trump about it.

That’s not all. The week should include shadow impeachment hearings, bringing in witnesses that include victims of the assault on our health, from measles patients to those kicked out of key clinical trials to those fired by RFK. And field hearings outside clinics and hospitals—in Republican districts and red states—with physicians, nurses, researchers, and patients testifying.

The same could be done with Shadow Intelligence Director Mark Warner, joined by Shadow CIA Director Elissa Slotkin, with the impeachment resolution introduced by Jim Himes, who would lead a debate including Abigail Spanberger, Jason Crow, Stacey Plaskett, Chrissy Houlahan, and more. Another week’s theme. That could be followed by Shadow Secretary of Defense Ruben Gallego joined by House Armed Services Committee Ranking Member Adam Smith, Reps. Mikie Sherrill, Jared Golden, Seth Moulton, Eric Swalwell and more; Shadow Attorney General Jamie Raskin who also lead the impeachment against Pam Bondi. And then Shadow Homeland Security Secretary Bennie Thompson, and so on.

Given the narrow House majority, it is even possible that one or a few of these resolutions could pass the House and put some onus on John Thune and Senate Republicans, creating even more intense public focus.

Right now, Senate Republicans, with the exception of the harsh criticism appropriately directed at the likes of Republican Sens. Bill Cassidy, Lisa Murkowski, and Susan Collins for their votes to confirm some of the worst of these, have gone unscathed for confirming every one of these choices, and House Republicans have gone unnoticed for their failure to do any oversight or take any action to curb the worst policies or corrupt acts. Individual statements or media appearances, commendable and strong as they might be, don’t do the trick. Bold and comprehensive action will.

Norman Ornstein is a political scientist, co-host of the podcast “Words Matter,” and author of books, including “It’s Even Worse Than It Looks: How the American Constitutional System Collided With the New Politics of Extremism.”

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