President Donald Trump reportedly supports the House GOP’s consideration of a resolution to void the two failed impeachments during his first term in office.
The resolution would symbolically, not legally, erase Trump’s impeachment record, the Wall Street Journal reported on Thursday. The president and his allies have recently discussed the idea with Republican lawmakers.
“It should be done because I did nothing wrong,” Trump said of the floated resolution in an interview with the outlet. “It was a rigged deal — it was a whole rigged situation.”
In December 2019, the House approved articles of impeachment over allegations that Trump pressured Ukraine to investigate then-presidential candidate Joe Biden as Trump sought reelection. Before Trump left the White House in January 2021, the House passed an article of impeachment related to his alleged involvement in the Capitol riot on Jan. 6 that year. The efforts went nowhere because the Senate declined to convict him.
In both instances, the House was controlled by Democrats. The lower chamber is now controlled by Republicans, who are trying to hold on to their narrow majority this election cycle.
House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) appears to be open to the move, although the resolution likely won’t see any progress until after the midterm elections. He noted discussions on the resolution started about a month ago.
“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. “We were saying it at the time, now we know. And they make a very compelling case that it should be expunged from the record, because it was a hyperpartisan attack job.”
“It is a priority and something that Congress should make right,” he added.
CALIFORNIA REPUBLICAN PUSHES HOUSE RESOLUTION TO ERASE TRUMP IMPEACHMENTS
Trump said he would be “honored” if House Republicans managed to pass the resolution, according to the report.
Notably, retiring Rep. Darrell Issa (R-CA) introduced a resolution in April to expunge Trump’s impeachments. Since it was filed, the resolution has gained 23 Republican co-sponsors. It’s unclear how Issa’s measure is different from the other resolution.