Edward Markey

Senator Ed Markey, the Massachusetts Democrat, called on his congressional colleagues Thursday night to impeach President Donald Trump for undermining elections, like in his primetime speech.

During the half-hour White House address, Trump promoted his longtime belief that major vulnerabilities exist in voting systems and have significantly affected election results, despite the lack of evidence of any pivotal security breaches.

"Trump must be impeached for undermining and subverting our free and fair elections," Markey said in a statement.

The president continued his campaign to sow doubt in elections during his speech, spreading debunked conspiracy theories about an Obama administration cover-up of foreign interference.

"Recently, we found significant numbers of burn bags information, and this is a group of bags that were used to destroy information, given by President Barack Hussein Obama to be burned," Trump claimed.

"It was supposed to be burned. These bags were supposed to be at a different level by different people, incinerated and checked, but it never happened," he added. "Maybe we got lucky ... But the findings are stunning."

The president, who was impeached for inciting the January 6th insurrection, has a history of challenging elections in unfavorable political environments. He has refused to accept former President Joe Biden’s 2020 victory and campaigned over the past year to restrict mail-in voting that contributed to his defeat.

Trump pushed Congress during Thursday's address to pass the SAVE America Act, which would require in-person voting and proof of citizenship to register.

"How easy is that to do, unless you want to cheat?" He questioned. "The only reason you wouldn't do it is you want to cheat because your policies are so bad and your candidates are so pathetic that you can't get away or can't get elected any other way."

The Senate has been unable to send the House-passed bill to Trump's desk. Republicans, though largely aligned with the president, are unwilling to take extreme action to overcome Democratic obstruction and approve the act with a simple majority. Only a few MAGA megaphones in the chamber have backed Trump's push to change the rules.

"After tonight, it’s even clearer that the Senate should take the SAVE America Act and continue debating it until it passes," Senator Mike Lee, the Utah Republican, said in reaction to the president's speech.

Trump's insistence on rewriting the playbook may backfire after the November midterm elections, when Democrats are expected to outperform Republicans and take control of at least the House. Aggressive Democratic action against the president may follow, leaving him open to oversight that could set the stage for a third impeachment.