Donald Trump is pushing Congress to formally void both of his first-term impeachments, with the White House dismissing the historic proceedings as “phony attacks by deranged Democrats” as momentum builds among Republican lawmakers for a symbolic resolution to erase them from the record.
Trump told the Wall Street Journal that Congress should act to correct what he described as politically motivated attacks on his presidency. “It should be done because I did nothing wrong. It was a rigged deal — it was a whole rigged situation,” he said. White House spokeswoman Abigail Jackson told the Daily Mail: “Trump-deranged Democrats have spent years launching phony attacks against the President and weaponizing the government against him. It’s no surprise that sane individuals are recognizing these sham efforts and are interested in undoing those shameful actions. President Trump remains focused on one thing: doing what’s best for the American people.”
House Speaker Mike Johnson has signalled support for the move, which has been gathering pace in Congress over the past month. “I think it makes a lot of sense — the more the evidence comes out, the more we know they really were sham impeachments,” Johnson said, describing it as “a priority and something Congress should make right.” In April, Republican Darrell Issa introduced a measure to expunge both impeachments, backed by 23 GOP co-sponsors. “We were saying it at the time, now we know,” Johnson added. “And they make a very compelling case that it should be expunged from the record, because it was a hyperpartisan attack job.”
Trump was impeached twice during his first term — first in 2019 over alleged abuse of power, for which he was acquitted in early 2020, and again in January 2021 over incitement of insurrection following the Capitol riot. He was acquitted both times in the Senate. While the proposed resolution would hand Trump a symbolic political victory on an issue that has dogged him for years, it would carry little legal weight, as the Constitution provides no mechanism for formally undoing an impeachment.
Trump also turned his fire on Maryland Democrat Jamie Raskin, who he believes would seek to impeach him again should Democrats retake the House. “If Biden didn’t give him a pardon, he’d be in jail right now!” Trump wrote on Truth Social on Thursday night. “Something should be done about people like this who do bad things, but always come up on the short end because of their illegal or unscrupulous behavior, and hurt our Country in the process.” He said he agreed with commentator Mark Levin’s call to “EXPEL THE BUM,” referring to Raskin.
The push comes as Trump’s grip on the Republican Party remains formidable, with the GOP holding majorities in both chambers heading into the midterms. His endorsement record has proven a mixed bag in recent primaries. On Tuesday night, Representative Nancy Mace finished last in South Carolina’s Republican gubernatorial primary, which is now headed to a runoff. Trump has previously ended the careers of high-profile Republicans including Texas Senator John Cornyn, after backing Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, and Louisiana Senator Bill Cassidy, after endorsing Representative Julia Letlow. Kentucky Representative Thomas Massie lost his seat after Trump backed Ed Gallrein. However, in Iowa last week, Republican voters chose insurgent candidate Zach Lahn — affiliated with Health Secretary Robert F Kennedy Jr’s Make America Healthy Again movement — over Trump-endorsed Randy Feenstra in the gubernatorial race.
The renewed push to expunge the impeachments comes just a week after Trump condemned Republican lawmakers who supported a Democrat-led war powers resolution aimed at limiting his authority over the conflict with Iran. “Yesterday, in a meaningless vote, the House voted, 4 bad Republicans and all of the Dumocrats, to limit my War Powers, right in the middle of my final negotiations to end the War with the Islamic Republic of Iran,” Trump wrote on Truth Social. Four Republicans — Massie, Brian Fitzpatrick, Warren Davidson and Tom Barrett — broke ranks to back the measure, which remains largely symbolic given it would require Senate passage and a two-thirds majority in both chambers to override a near-certain presidential veto. Trump described the dissenting Republicans as “GRANDSTANDERS” who “should be ashamed of themselves.”
