Rep. John Yarmuth says President Trump's tweet about Jeff Sessions meets impeachable standard.

Yarmuth, a Democrat, also said there's not much point in pursuing impeachment because the votes aren't there.

Yarmuth isn't the only one criticizing Trump's tweet — a Republican senator also took issue with it.

Congressman John Yarmuth is tossing out the "I" word again after President Donald Trump took the extraordinary step of blasting the U.S. Department of Justice for hurting the re-election chances of two Republicans facing federal prosecution.

Trump suggested Monday on Twitter that Attorney General Jeff Sessions should have halted charges against Reps. Chris Collins of New York and Duncan Hunter of California ahead of this year's mid-term elections.

Collins, who is accused of insider trading, and Hunter, who is accused of using campaign funds for personal use, were among the first elected officials to endorse Trump in the 2016 presidential race.

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"Two easy wins now in doubt because there is not enough time," Trump tweeted on Monday. “Good job Jeff.”

Yarmuth didn't mince words about the president's tweet in a tweet of his own Tuesday morning.

"If a tweet can be an impeachable offense, this is it," he said. "Trump swore to preserve and protect the Constitution. He is undermining it."

This isn't the first time Yarmuth has flirted with using Congress’ authority to oust Trump. The Louisville Democrat joined a handful of colleagues last year who introduced five separate articles of impeachment against Trump.

Yarmuth said at the time the move was largely symbolic, adding that it shouldn't be a rallying cry for Democrats in their effort to seize the U.S. House. He said he would vote for impeachment, however.

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"My position is that I definitely believe (Trump) has committed impeachable acts, but that proceeding with impeachment is pointless until there is a chance of passing an impeachment resolution in the House and having a chance at conviction in the Senate," Yarmuth said in a statement to the Courier Journal on Tuesday. "That is not now.”

Under the Constitution, the House would vote on one or more articles of impeachment and if at least one got a majority vote, the president would be impeached. The proceedings would then move to the Senate, where senators would serve as the jury, and could remove Trump by a two-thirds vote.

Only two presidents have been impeached: Andrew Johnson and Bill Clinton. But neither was removed from the White House. Richard Nixon resigned to avoid being impeached.

Democrats have kept talk of impeaching Trump muted, but they have hinted there will be a bevy of congressional investigations if they win the House majority. Others remain cautious that doing so would energize Trump’s base while unnecessarily politicizing Congress’ impeachment powers.

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Yarmuth hasn’t mentioned impeachment on his social media accounts since last year and his campaign isn’t touting that possibility.

Asked on Tuesday if he favors pursuing impeachment if Democrats takeover the House, he said, “not necessarily” but that he does hope an investigation is launched.

"That wouldn't guarantee passage of impeachment articles," Yarmuth said. "I would hope we would at least investigate possible articles of impeachment though, if we have the majority.”

Trump has been at odds with Sessions for months, and has repeatedly aired his grievances in public over the attorney general’s decision to recuse himself in the investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 race.

Trump's tweet blasting Sessions over the indictments drew the ire of more than just Democrats like Yarmuth.

Republican Sen. Ben Sasse of Nebraska also scolded the president, saying Trump should refrain from commenting on ongoing investigations and prosecutions, and focus on defending the Constitution and protecting the impartial administration of justice.

"The United States is not some banana republic with a two-tiered system of justice – one for the majority party and one for the minority party," Sasse said in a statement.

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Reporter Phillip M. Bailey can be reached at 502-582-4475 or pbailey@courierjournal.com. Support strong local journalism by subscribing today: courier-journal.com/philb.