Donald Trump is urging Congress to erase one of the most contentious chapters of his political career, pushing Republicans to pass a resolution that would symbolically nullify the two impeachments he faced during his first term.
The initiative, first reported by the Wall Street Journal and confirmed by a White House official, would allow Trump to claim a symbolic victory on a key grievance from his earlier presidency. However, experts note that it carries little legal weight, as the Constitution provides no mechanism for reversing an impeachment.
Trump is the only US president in history to have been impeached twice. The first case, in 2019, involved allegations that he abused his power by pressuring Ukraine to investigate Joe Biden, a political rival. He was acquitted by the Senate in February 2020.
The second impeachment followed the January 6, 2021 attack on the US Capitol, when lawmakers accused him of inciting an insurrection. He was again acquitted after leaving office.
According to the Journal, Trump and his allies are seeking a congressional resolution that would effectively expunge the impeachments from the historical record. While such a measure would have no legal force, supporters view it as a symbolic repudiation of what they consider politically motivated proceedings.
Any attempt to revisit the impeachments is likely to reopen some of the most controversial episodes of Trump's political career at a time when Republicans are preparing for next year's midterm elections. Critics argue that the strategy risks drawing renewed attention to the very allegations the president would prefer to leave in the past.
Speaking on CNN, political commentator SE Cupp questioned the wisdom of the move. "What are you thinking?" she said. "He's not thinking ahead. All the reasons he was impeached get dredged up again, and we're all talking about it around a midterm election."
Democrats quickly seized on this argument. Ted Lieu, a Democratic representative from California who served as an impeachment manager during Trump's second trial, wrote on social media: "As a former impeachment manager, I plead with you to please bring up Trump's prior impeachments. Let's hold hearings, call witnesses and show videos to remind people what happened. And please make every Republican in a swing district vote on this. Thank you."
Adam Schiff, the California senator who was lead impeachment manager in the first trial, dismissed the effort as futile. "There is no expunging the stain of Trump's two impeachments," he wrote. "Or avoiding the conclusion that the president cares little about the economic hardships of the American people. His priority is only, ever, Donald Trump."
Trump is only the third US president to be impeached, following Andrew Johnson in 1868 and Bill Clinton in 1998. Both were acquitted by the Senate. Richard Nixon resigned in 1974 before the House could vote on articles of impeachment over the Watergate scandal.
Since returning to office, Trump has repeatedly portrayed the impeachments as part of a broader campaign by political opponents and government institutions to undermine him. But constitutional scholars note that the US Constitution contains no mechanism for reversing or canceling an impeachment once it has occurred. As a result, any congressional resolution would amount largely to a political statement rather than a substantive legal action.
Abigail Jackson, a White House spokesperson, defended the proposal, accusing Democrats of pursuing partisan vendettas against the president. "Trump-deranged Democrats have spent years launching phony attacks against the president and weaponizing the government against him," she said. "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."
