Democratic megadonor Tom Steyer (Drew Angerer/Getty Images)

While most of the House’s Democratic majority still avoids overt talk of impeaching President Donald Trump, libertarian-leaning Rep. Justin Amash (R-Mich.) became the first Republican congressional member to speak out in favor of impeachment. Though the possibility of impeachment still seems remote, that hasn’t stopped Need to Impeach, the group backed by Democratic megadonor Tom Steyer, from lobbying Congress in support of removing Trump. It is currently the only group lobbying for impeachment.

Movement on impeachment has stalled likely because of Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi’s (D-Calif.) reluctance to pursue impeachment proceedings, which has drawn the recent ire of members of her caucus and activists like Steyer. The group recently released a $1 million ad buy for national networks in New Hampshire and Iowa criticizing Democratic Party leaders for doing nothing.

Need to Impeach is not the first group to ever lobby for the impeachment of a president. In 2006 and 2007, after Democrats took control of Congress, the American Federation of Senior Citizens, which is linked to a deceptive organization, lobbied Congress to impeach President George W. Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney over their handling of the Iraq War. The group alleged that the administration “mislead Congress and the American people … misstated and manipulated intelligence,” among other misdeeds. Neither Bush nor Cheney came close to ever facing impeachment hearings, despite articles of impeachment that were introduced in Congress by former 2004 and 2008 presidential candidate, Rep. Dennis Kucinich (D-Ohio).

Through the first quarter of 2019, Need to Impeach spent $20,000 on the hiring of former Rep. Mark Schauer (D-Mich.) to lobby Congress in favor of impeachment. Need for Impeach stands alone as the only organization to currently list itself in disclosure forms as actively lobbying for Trump’s impeachment.

Schauer served one term in the House from 2009 to 2011, where he was considered a moderate member of the Democratic Party. He lost reelection in the 2010 Republican wave and unsuccessfully ran for Governor of Michigan 2014. Schauer was also the director of the now-defunct hybrid PAC/super PAC Advantage 2020 which raised and spent $410,338 in the 2016 cycle before closing its doors.

Kevin Mack, lead strategist for Need to Impeach, told OpenSecrets that Schauer was hired “to help guide that strategy [of Congressional outreach] and our efforts in Congress.”

“Former Rep. Schauer is meeting with members to show them the full extent of grassroots support for impeachment in their districts and among Democrats across the country — and hear from members about their plans to hold Trump accountable,” Mack said.

Despite continued Congressional reluctance, Mack said that Congress needs to hear from the American people who support impeachment.

“The American people are demanding Congress stand up for the rule of law, and we’ll do everything we can to make their voices heard on Capitol Hill,” he said.

In the lobbying disclosure, the specific lobbying issues included House Resolution 257, one of two impeachment resolutions introduced in the 116th Congress. Sponsored by progressive freshman Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.) and cosponsored by seven others, including Reps. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.), Ayanna Pressley (D-Mass.), Al Green (D-Texas) and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.), the legislation hasn’t moved out of the House Rules Committee since its introduction on March 27.

Another impeachment-related resolution, House Resolution 13 which is actual articles of impeachment, was introduced in January 2019 by Rep. Brad Sherman (D-Calif.) and attracted one cosponsor, the aforementioned Green. The resolution hasn’t moved out of the House Judiciary Committee.

Green introduced two impeachment resolutions during the 115th Congress, both of which were tabled by an overwhelming margin. Another two resolutions in the 115th, one from Sherman and one from Rep. Steve Cohen (D-Tenn.) neither of which escaped committee.

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As some Democrats grow frustrated with the party leadership’s slow walking, a few are starting to speak out in favor of starting the impeachment process. Rep. David Cicilline (D-R.I.) said impeachment inquiries should begin if former White House Counsel Don McGahn failed to appear at a congressional hearing on Tuesday, which McGahn did skip.

Need to Impeach’s lobbying effort comes as part of their broader effort to gather public support for impeachment. The organization’s website boasts more than 8 million people have signed an online petition supporting their mission.

A total of 10 million signatures, from groups like MoveOn, Women’s March and Need to Impeach, were brought to a Capitol Hill event and delivered to Tlaib and Green. Tlaib tweeted “This is a movement to take back our country.”

During the 2018 cycle, the group’s associated super PAC raised almost $15.3 million. — A large chunk of that money, more than $12.3 million, came from Steyer himself. Around $1.4 million came from unitemized individual contributions of $200 or less.

The super PAC spent much of the money it raised, about $14.5 million. Around half of that, $7.2 million, was spent on web ads and media buys. Another $5.6 million was spent on campaign mailings.

According to the Facebook Ad Archive, from May 2018 through May 19, 2019 Need to Impeach spent $59,991 on Facebook ads. The group’s current active ads predominantly target those in the 65+ age bracket.

Need to Impeach pays for promoted tweets on Twitter, but because Twitter does not list Need to Impeach’s ads as political there is no information on how much has been spent.

The organization also hosts a number of volunteer events across the country, including phone banks, canvassing and visits to members of Congress’ district offices.

While Need to Impeach has yet to file with the FEC in 2019, Steyer, who considered running for president in 2020, has said he will commit $40 million to efforts to oust Trump.

Amash’s recent outspokenness on impeachment has been galvanizing Need to Impeach. The group sent out emails citing Amash’s support of impeachment and encouraging the recipients to contact their representative and have them state their support of impeachment proceedings.

Steyer’s impeachment efforts have brought him to the notice of Trump, who in an April 26 tweet deemed Steyer a “weirdo.”



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