Washington (CNN) Democratic billionaire Tom Steyer on Wednesday urged the newly empowered House Democrats to pursue impeachment proceedings against President Donald Trump.

"If you look at last night and you look at the popular vote, there was a referendum on the President, and he got crushed," Steyer told CNN in a telephone interview.

He said House Democrats must "stand up for the rule of law" and confront a "lawless" President who is a "threat to the American Constitution and the American people."

But a push to impeach Trump could put some of the new Democratic lawmakers in a tough place politically if they are focusing on impeachment rather than economic issues and health care that they campaigned on.

Steyer, who is weighing a 2020 presidential bid, made impeachment and driving youth turnout in House races, the centerpiece of his $120 million campaign to shape the midterm elections.

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