Just under half of Americans say President Donald Trump should be impeached as House Democrats continue to grapple with how to most effectively utilize their oversight powers over the White House. Forty-five percent of Americans say Trump should be impeached, while 53 percent say he should not be, according to a new Gallup poll released on Wednesday, The Hill reported.
The results are divided along partisan lines, with 7 percent of Republicans, 46 percent of independents and 81 percent of Democrats saying Trump should be impeached.
Despite overall opposition to impeachment, Gallup noted that support for Trump’s ouster exceeds that for former President Bill Clinton's throughout the Monica Lewinsky scandal and for former President Richard Nixon's at the beginning of the Watergate controversy.
Trump’s overall favorability rating sits at 41 percent in the poll, staying within the low-to-mid-40s range it has been in for most of his presidency.
The poll comes as House Democrats are engulfed in an intraparty dispute over whether to begin impeachment proceedings against Trump.
Eighty-one House Democrats support beginning the proceedings, with many saying Trump has obstructed justice and that impeachment could help House committees more easily obtain documents and testimony for their own oversight hearings.
However, Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) has thus far beaten back the calls, worrying that impeachment would not be bipartisan and could help consolidate Trump’s base ahead of the 2020 election.
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