ARLINGTON, Va. — Democratic billionaire mega-donor Tom Steyer is bringing his national campaign to impeach President TrumpDonald John TrumpSenate advances public lands bill in late-night vote Warren, Democrats urge Trump to back down from veto threat over changing Confederate-named bases Esper orders ‘After Action Review’ of National Guard’s role in protests MORE from the airwaves to in-person town halls across the country.

On Tuesday night, about 100 people attended Steyer’s town hall in Arlington, Va., just a few miles outside of the nation’s capital. The event is part of a series of 30 town halls that kicked off last week in Ohio, a perennial swing state Trump won in 2016.

At his town hall series, Steyer is making an appeal to Americans for what he describes as the “patriotic case for impeachment.” He’s championed that effort with his “Need to Impeach” campaign, urging members of Congress to support impeachment. He’s already spent more than $20 million running ads and his petition has garnered more than 5 million signatures.

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Steyer has repeatedly condemned Trump for “his failure to respond” to Russia’s interference in the 2016 election. And he referred to Trump’s latest assault on special counsel Robert MuellerRobert (Bob) MuellerCNN’s Toobin warns McCabe is in ‘perilous condition’ with emboldened Trump CNN anchor rips Trump over Stone while evoking Clinton-Lynch tarmac meeting The Hill’s 12:30 Report: New Hampshire fallout MORE as yet another example of why he’s a “dangerous and lawless president” and why he believes there is ground for impeachment.

“I think over the last week, we’ve seen that the pace of those events has picked up really dramatically and I would expect that increasing pace and escalation would continue,” Steyer told the packed hotel room overlooking the Pentagon.

“We always felt that for people who weren’t convinced, the more that time passed and the more that events transpired, the more right we’d be proved.”

Over the weekend, Trump unleashed a series of tweets attacking Mueller directly, calling the investigation into potential ties between his campaign and Russia a “witch hunt.” His criticisms have prompted speculation that he could fire Mueller, which has received pushback from even some Republicans.

Sen. Jeff FlakeJeffrey (Jeff) Lane FlakeGOP lawmakers stick to Trump amid new criticism Kelly holds double-digit lead over McSally in Arizona: poll Trump asserts his power over Republicans MORE (R-Ariz.), who’s a vocal critic of Trump, said on Tuesday he’d support impeachment if the president fired Mueller “without cause.” Sen. Lindsey GrahamLindsey Olin GrahamHillicon Valley: Biden calls on Facebook to change political speech rules | Dems demand hearings after Georgia election chaos | Microsoft stops selling facial recognition tech to police OVERNIGHT DEFENSE: Joint Chiefs chairman says he regrets participating in Trump photo-op | GOP senators back Joint Chiefs chairman who voiced regret over Trump photo-op | Senate panel approves 0B defense policy bill GOP senators back Joint Chiefs chairman who voiced regret over Trump photo-op MORE (R-S.C.) echoed that sentiment, saying it’d “probably” be an impeachable offense.

Most attendees appeared supportive of impeachment, with many in the audience venting frustrations with Democratic elected officials who haven’t rallied behind the push.

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Impeachment hasn’t drawn unanimous support from Democrats on Capitol Hill. House Minority Leader Nancy PelosiNancy PelosiTrump on collision course with Congress over bases with Confederate names Black lawmakers unveil bill to remove Confederate statues from Capitol Pelosi: Georgia primary ‘disgrace’ could preview an election debacle in November MORE (D-Calif.) and House Minority Whip Steny HoyerSteny Hamilton HoyerOvernight Health Care: US showing signs of retreat in battle against COVID-19 | Regeneron begins clinical trials of potential coronavirus antibody treatment | CMS warns nursing homes against seizing residents’ stimulus checks Hoyer: House will vote soon on bill to improve ObamaCare Hoyer: Infrastructure package to hit floor this month MORE (D-Md.) have cautioned that calls for impeachment are premature. They also argue that calls for impeachment risk turning off more moderate voters in GOP-friendly territory in the midterms.

One attendee asked why a number of Democrats aren’t “protecting democracy” by supporting impeachment.

“It’s considered dangerous for someone to tell the truth,” Steyer said. “They’re saying it’s politically inconvenient for me, and we’re saying … this is an important truth for Americans to stand up for.”

When asked about what the Democratic Party thinks of Steyer, he bluntly responded that he doesn’t know what the party “means” now that the party is no longer occupying the White House.

“When Barack was president I knew what the party meant. He kind of defined what we were,” Steyer said, referring to former President Obama.

“There are people who are elected officials within the Democratic Party who are trying to figure out how to play poker and that gets in their way of telling the truth because they’ve gotten so out of practice of telling hard truths because they think in the short run it’s not going to pay off.”

Steyer noted that, at previous town halls, he’s been consistently asked why he’s not engaging with elected officials over the matter. The environmental activist said they’re not “soliciting” politicians because they’re more worried about their political futures.

“In all cases, the elected officials are looking at their own ability to get reelected, it comes before your interest, my interest and the interest of the American people,” Steyer said. “Really what we’re trying to do is direct democracy.”

As the town hall wrapped up, an attendee shouted out a questions about Steyer’s political future: “When are you announcing your candidacy for president?”

Steyer, 60, who is rumored to be a potential presidential contender in 2020, didn’t engage or acknowledge the question. He has ruled out a run for office this cycle, but is planning to be a significant power player for Democrats in the midterm elections.

Steyer’s pledged to spend about $30 million to help Democrats take back the House in the fall. The party needs to win about two dozen seats to regain the majority. That spending will be geared toward voter outreach of millennials in 10 states.

And he announced an additional $7 million investment to turn out young voters in California and Florida, which are both home to a handful of competitive House races that are key to winning back the House. It’ll also be used to help boost Sen. Bill NelsonClarence (Bill) William NelsonNASA, SpaceX and the private-public partnership that caused the flight of the Crew Dragon Lobbying world The most expensive congressional races of the last decade MORE (D-Fla.) in his closely watched reelection, as well as electing a progressive candidate in Florida’s open-seat governor’s race.