President Donald Trump and his allies are discussing a congressional effort to expunge his two impeachments, a symbolic move supporters argue would correct what they view as partisan actions.
Trump was impeached twice during his presidency, and the Senate acquitted him on both articles. The first impeachment occurred in December 2019 on charges of abuse of power and obstruction of Congress, while the second came in January 2021 on charges of incitement of insurrection following the Capitol riot on January 6.
What the Proposal Involves
The expungement resolution would carry little legal effect because the Constitution provides no mechanism for reversing an impeachment once it has occurred. “It should be done because I did nothing wrong,” Trump said in a phone interview this week.
House Speaker Mike Johnson confirmed discussions about the proposal with Trump and legal advisors including Harvard Law professor emeritus Alan Dershowitz and conservative attorney Jay Sekulow. “It is a priority and something that Congress should make right,” Johnson said.
The Legal Questions
Constitutional law experts have raised significant doubts about congressional authority to expunge impeachments. Michael Gerhardt, a constitutional law professor at the University of North Carolina, dismissed the proposal as legally baseless, saying “Historically, nobody thought that Congress had this power, because Congress doesn’t have this power.”
Dershowitz acknowledged uncertainty about whether Congress possesses such authority, though he stated, “I don’t see any reason why it couldn’t be done.” Conservative journalist John Solomon has argued that recently declassified materials from the first impeachment investigation could justify congressional action.
What Comes Next
The effort is not expected to move forward until after the November election, according to people familiar with the discussions. Similar resolutions introduced in 2023 by then-Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene and Representative Elise Stefanik failed to advance.
Supporters argue that a resolution would serve as a formal statement that the impeachments were politically motivated. Any expungement measure would reopen debate over two of the most contentious episodes of Trump’s presidency.
This story has been updated. CNN’s reporting staff contributed to this report.
