Democrats reportedly remain uncertain about pursuing another impeachment of President Donald Trump after the midterm elections. But Jamelle Bouie, a columnist for The New York Times, argues that members of Trump's administration may deserve impeachment as much as the president—and that at least three officials are particularly vulnerable.

With Democrats projected to win a new majority in the House, and potentially the Senate, discussions about impeaching Trump again remain contentious. Impeachment follows a fixed constitutional sequence: a simple majority in the House is enough to bring articles forward, while conviction and removal in the Senate requires a two-thirds vote—meaning Democrats would need some Republican support to remove any official, the same dynamic Bouie leans on. Should the projection hold once results are certified, the decision point would arrive when the new Congress convenes in January, since only the chamber's majority can advance investigations and articles. Although Bouie said there are ample grounds for pursuing a case, many Democrats remain hesitant because removing Trump from office is considered highly unlikely. They also remain mindful that his first two impeachments helped rally his strongest supporters around him.

Bouie, a liberal political commentator, has publicly supported a third impeachment of Trump. In his latest “Takes” video on YouTube, he argued that Democrats who are reluctant to target the president could instead pursue his senior officials, whom he said are similarly deserving of accountability.

“No, there may not be an impeachment of Trump, but you can impeach [Defense Secretary Pete] Hegseth,” Bouie said. “You can impeach [Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy] Jr who is currently, basically, facilitating a measles outbreak that's already killed several people. You can impeach Russell Vought, the head of the Office of Management and Budget, one of the real supervillains of this administration, who is engaged in a lawless attack on the Congress's spending power. You can impeach Stephen Miller, the architect of the administration's extremely draconian and fascist immigration policies. You can remove Sean Duffy, the idiot Secretary of Transportation. I mean, really, you can use this to go after the entire administration.”

Bouie further argued that there could be enough Republican support in the Senate to impeach and remove some of Trump's officials, citing Republicans' reported opposition to their policies and reluctance to hold Trump directly responsible for them. The removal bar is historically steep: no cabinet secretary has ever been removed from office through impeachment—the only one impeached by the House, War Secretary William Belknap in 1876, was acquitted by the Senate. He acknowledged, however, that investigations involving numerous administration officials could undermine Republican support, making it necessary to focus on the most vulnerable targets.

“Maybe you just focus it on a few people,” Bouie said. “Hegseth and Miller, in particular, I think are the best targets; Hegseth, Miller and RFK are the best targets. I'm not sure if Republicans will go for Vought; if they don't, so be it. I would like him gone, but I get that. I think Hegseth, Miller and RFK are the three vulnerable ones who a lot of Republicans are unhappy with because of their conduct, their behavior, their record, and impeaching them would be the beginning of an accountability process and force the president to have to defend them.”