THE DAILY BS: HOW MUCH CAN YOU HANDLE?

SPARE ME THE BS (I’ve got things to do).

• Kamala Harris advised Democrats against impeaching President Trump if they take control of Congress, saying another impeachment would waste limited time and resources.
• Instead, the former vice president wants investigations, accountability and an approach she described as “ruthless” and “uncompromising.”
• Harris acknowledged the political arithmetic: Democrats don’t have the 67 Senate votes needed to remove Trump. James Carville and Cory Booker have raised similar objections to pursuing another impeachment.

LAY IT ON ME (I’ve got time).

Kamala Harris has some advice for Democrats who are already imagining Donald Trump’s third impeachment: Don’t bother.

Not because she’s suddenly developed a fondness for the president who defeated her in 2024. And certainly not because she thinks congressional Democrats should spend their time exchanging holiday cards with the White House.

She wants investigations. Lots of investigations. And she wants Democrats to be “ruthless” about getting things done.

During a Tuesday interview with Aaron Parnas of the progressive MeidasTouch network, Harris was asked how Democrats should use congressional power if they win control of the House and Senate in next week’s midterm elections.

Parnas presented the alternatives: investigations potentially leading to impeachment, or passing legislation and forcing Trump to decide whether to veto it.

Harris chose a third option: investigate Trump, pursue the party’s legislative priorities and leave impeachment off the immediate agenda.

“I think that going in the direction of impeachment is not a good idea, just to be honest with you,” she said.

Her explanation wasn’t particularly complicated. Democrats have limited resources, and the Senate arithmetic is unforgiving.

Removing a president requires a two-thirds Senate majority. With all 100 senators voting, that’s 67 votes.

Harris knows that number rather well. She was a senator during Trump’s first impeachment trial, when Democrats failed to obtain the votes needed for conviction.

Trump was impeached twice during his first presidency and acquitted twice by the Senate.

So Harris is suggesting Democrats avoid spending another round of hearings and congressional floor time on a process they cannot carry through to removal.

That’s an interesting admission in a party where the demand to impeach Trump has become a recurring feature of political life, almost as familiar as campaign fundraising appeals.

But Harris wasn’t offering Trump a quiet second half of his presidency.

She called for investigations and accountability while urging Democrats to pursue legislation involving Medicaid, the administration’s military policy and other priorities.

Then came the word choice certain to get attention. Harris said Democrats needed to become “kind of ruthless.”

She immediately drew a distinction between ruthlessness and cruelty, describing Republicans as cruel while urging Democrats to be uncompromising and stop worrying about preserving comfortable Washington relationships.

For a party that frequently describes the opposition as an existential threat, Harris’s message creates an unusual combination: abandon the most dramatic congressional weapon while intensifying the investigative pressure.

And she isn’t the only prominent Democrat making that calculation.

Earlier this month, veteran Democratic strategist James Carville advised the party against pursuing another impeachment if it wins control of the House.

Carville argued that Democrats should devote their energy to investigating the president because the Senate votes for removing him aren’t there.

The advice came during an October 6 Fox News report on his Politics War Room podcast discussion with Al Hunt.

Democratic Sen. Cory Booker has also raised concerns about Congress consuming valuable time on an impeachment effort rather than legislation addressing household costs and other issues.

In an October 23 CNN interview, Booker emphasized congressional oversight while questioning whether another impeachment proceeding would be the best use of Democrats’ time.

The former vice president is traveling the country on behalf of Democratic candidates while leaving open the possibility of another presidential campaign in 2028.

She recently told CNN’s Isaac Dovere that she goes back and forth about running again.

That gives her advice about impeachment a significance beyond one television interview. Harris is weighing in on how Democrats should govern if they gain congressional power, while keeping her own future in national politics very much alive.

And the broader Democratic Party remains divided.

Progressive activists have pressed for impeachment, while other party figures question the wisdom of pursuing a third confrontation that could consume congressional time without producing a Senate conviction.

DBS WIRE SOURCES (I’ve got all day).

• Mediaite — Harris interview
• CNN — Harris impeachment remarks
• Fox News — James Carville advice
• CNN — Cory Booker
• Axios — Democrats impeachment debate