Georgia Democratic Sen. Jon Ossoff told a voter in Georgia on Friday that he “strongly” agrees that President Donald Trump needs to be impeached.
“There is no doubt that this president’s conduct has already exceeded any prior standard for impeachment by the United States House of Representatives,” Ossoff told the audience at a town hall in Cobb County, adding later that there is “no question” a number of Trump’s actions have risen to the level of an impeachable offense.
Ossoff, who is perhaps the nation’s most endangered Senate Democrat and who is charting a path for reelection in a state Trump won in 2024, is just the latest in his party to face critical questions during Congress’ two-week break from Washington. Constituents have challenged members of both parties on a range of topics, but Democrats – who have held more public, in-person town halls – have faced deep frustrations from voters who have said the party is not doing enough to counter the president.
The senator told attendees that “there is no magic button” he can push to unwind the Trump administration’s dismantling of federal agencies and overhaul of the federal workforce – drawing an impassioned response from one voter.
“Why are there no calls for impeachment? This is unacceptable,” the woman shouted to cheers from the crowd. “I will not live in an authoritative country, and neither will any of these people. You can do more! Think outside the box! He needs to be impeached.”
The woman, who said she has a father who is a retired Army colonel, a son with autism and kids who attend a Title 1 school, urged Ossoff to be “brave.”
“I like you, and I will vote for you if you are brave, and you do what we need,” she said. “We need him [Trump] to be impeached. We need him to be removed.”
Ossoff said he agreed, but the senator noted the unlikelihood of such an action in Congress, saying the only road to Trump’s impeachment is through a majority vote in the GOP-controlled House.
“I agree with you, but as I said at the beginning, I also have no choice but to be candid with you about the situation that we face and the tools that are at our disposal,” he said. “As strongly as I agree with you, ma’am, and I regret if this is an unwelcome response, but my job is to be honest with you. The only way to achieve what you want to achieve is to have a majority in the United States House of Representatives and … believe me, I’m working on it every single day, every single day.”
Another audience member identified herself as a US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention worker who had been fired as part of DOGE’s mass layoffs. She accused Ossoff of being less supportive of public health than Georgia Democratic Sen. Raphael Warnock, despite Ossoff’s position as a member of the Senate Appropriations Committee.
“He [Warnock] didn’t just listen,” she said. “[He] added resources for fired feds to his website and assigned dedicated staffers to assist us individually. Your office has put out a few press releases.”
Ossoff outlined his approach to what he described as the GOP’s plans to scrap funding for public health from the budget at the state, national and global level.
“I will remain an outspoken champion of Georgia’s CDC and continue to oppose — both through the legislative process, and as you noted, as an appropriator — the proposed deep cuts to the CDC budget, continue to vigorously oppose and expose the foolishness of these mass firings at the CDC, and champion the CDCs work nationally and internationally as a proud representative,” Ossoff said.
Ossoff also fielded a question about what he plans to do if Trump incites martial law to block the 2028 presidential election from happening.
“I have no doubt that this president, given his authoritarian impulses, his desire to rule as a king by decree, and his contempt for those who criticize and disagree with him, would relish the opportunity to try to invoke or wield emergency powers,” he said.
Ossoff said Trump’s perceived desires “cannot deter us” and went on to offer words of encouragement for constituents feeling fearful or hopeless.
“That cannot deter us as citizens from peacefully exercising every constitutional right to which we are entitled as American citizens, to speak out and to advocate for the kind of country that we want to live in, and we will not be deterred from exercising our right as citizens,” he said.