If efforts like this do not persuade the public that the president deserves to be removed from office, there would be no upside — and lots of downside — in proceeding with articles of impeachment. But the effort would still not be an exercise in futility. Even if Americans were not alarmed enough to demand the president’s removal, they could become outraged enough to demand that he reverse course and uphold the rule of law.

That is, even if there is insufficient political support for ousting the president, spotlighting the issue of presidential lawlessness is essential if we are to create a drastically different political environment. The point is to give Congress the confidence to do what it is now too skittish to do: use its constitutional muscle to counter the administration’s abuses of power.