In politics, as in nature, every action has an equal and opposite reaction. When congressional Democrats impeached President Trump, twice, it was inevitable that Republicans would seek to use impeachment against democrat politicians. And now that the Democratic presidential administration has indicted President Trump, it will inevitably come to pass that Republicans will seek to indict Democratic politicians. Two recent pieces in the New York Times reflect these Newtonian reactions.
First, Carl Hulse writes that impeachments and censures, once rare, have become the new normal in Congress. There are currently investigations to impeach the Secretary of Homeland Security, the Attorney General, and even President Biden himself.
Proposals to censure lawmakers and impeach members of the Biden administration are piling up quickly in the House in an illustration of how once-solemn acts are becoming almost routine as the two parties seize on these procedures as part of their political combat. And the trend is only likely to intensify given the enmity between Republicans and Democrats over a new federal indictment brought against Mr. Trump for his efforts to overturn the 2020 election, and the G.O.P.'s desire to even the score.
The proliferation of censures and cries for impeachment is troubling to some who see it as a threat to the standing of the institution as well as diminishing the weight such punishments are supposed to carry. Censure is the congressional penalty just below expulsion.
