Former CIA Director John Brennan is calling for President Donald Trump to be removed from office, backing a long-shot push to invoke the 25th Amendment as outrage grows over Trump’s threats toward Iran.
Brennan, who served under former President Barack Obama and is now under investigation by the Justice Department, made the remarks during an appearance on MS NOW with Ali Velshi—warning that Trump’s rhetoric has pushed the country into dangerous territory.
The 25th Amendment, Brennan argued, “was written with Donald Trump in mind.”
“Allowing someone like this to continue to be the commander in chief and to control the tremendous capabilities of the U.S. military, including our nuclear weapons capability, which he seemed to allude to when he said he’s going to just eliminate a entire civilization,” Brennan said. “Again, we really are in very, very troubling times.”
His comments come as more than 70 lawmakers are now calling for the 25th Amendment to be invoked, following a series of escalating threats Trump made on Truth Social aimed at Iran over the Strait of Hormuz.
The president first issued a warning on Easter Sunday, giving Iran a hard deadline to reopen the critical shipping lane. As the clock ticked down, Trump posted that “a whole civilization will die tonight.”
“I don’t want that to happen, but it probably will,” Trump wrote.
Just before the deadline, Trump announced a two-week ceasefire agreement between the U.S. and Iran. But tensions flared again days later, when he revealed the U.S. Navy would begin blocking all ships entering and exiting the Strait of Hormuz—raising fresh fears of a wider conflict.
Brennan has been a frequent and vocal critic of Trump’s handling of the war, previously calling him “flailing” and “clueless” in media appearances.
His call for removal adds fuel to an already intensifying political firestorm in Washington.
Impeachment efforts are once again swirling around Trump, with multiple Democrats introducing articles against both the president and top administration officials. Some lawmakers have accused the administration of war crimes tied to strikes in Iran, while others argue Trump has overstepped constitutional war powers.
Trump, for his part, has repeatedly predicted Democrats will try to impeach him again if they regain control of the House—framing the push as inevitable political retaliation.
Brennan’s intervention is particularly striking given his own legal troubles. The Justice Department launched an investigation into him in July 2025 over his role in the 2017 Intelligence Community Assessment on Russian election interference.
That report controversially included the Steele dossier—a now-debunked set of memos alleging Trump colluded with Russia. Brennan has denied wrongdoing, insisting the dossier “was not in any way used as a basis” for the assessment.
House Republicans, however, have accused him of misleading Congress. Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan recently said the probe is “heating up” and predicted Brennan will face “accountability.”
Brennan’s lawyers say he has been identified as a target but have not been given any “legally justifiable basis” for the investigation.
Even so, the former spy chief is now stepping back into the political spotlight—calling for the extraordinary step of removing a sitting president, as impeachment threats, war tensions, and constitutional battles collide.
