House Speaker Kevin McCarthy has hinted at the possibility of expunging the impeachments of former President Donald Trump by the Democratic-led House. The newly-elected speaker revealed this at a press conference on Thursday, where he said his office would take a look at a resolution on the issue if it is brought forward.
First things first! McCarthy says he will look at expunging Trump impeachment https://t.co/SPHFc6BxlW
— Guy Kawasaki (@GuyKawasaki) January 14, 2023
“I would understand why members would want to bring that forward,” he said while he noted that House Republicans have more pressing issues in matters of economic and national security. He, however, added that he is willing to look into Trump’s case as he understands why members of the House may want to push it forward.
“When you watch what he went through, I would understand why members would want to bring that forward. Our first priority is to get our economy back on track, secure our borders, make our streets safe again, give parents the opportunity to have a say in their education, and actually hold government accountable. But I understand why individuals want to do it, and we’d look at it,” McCarthy stated.
Trump was impeached twice during his four years as president of the United States. He was first impeached in 2019 for allegedly denying Ukraine military aid to pressure the country to look into the business dealings of Hunter Biden, which he said was shady.
The second impeachment came about two years later, in 2021, for allegedly having a hand in the attack on the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6 that year.
While the Senate ultimately acquitted Trump in both impeachments, there has been an interest among Republican lawmakers to expunge the impeachments. In the last Congress, a group consisting of over 30 House Republicans put forward a resolution to expunge the impeachment related to the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol attack.
The resolution, led by Rep. Markwayne Mullin (R-OK), was supported by Conference Chairwoman Elise Stefanik (R-NY), the fourth-ranking Republican in House GOP leadership.
Stefanik has labeled the Jan. 6 impeachment a “sham process.” “President Donald Trump was rightfully acquitted, and it is past time to expunge Democrats’ sham smear against not only President Trump’s name but against millions of patriots across the country,” she stated last year.
Mullin led another group – a smaller one this time – in the introduction of a resolution that seeks to expunge the former president’s December 2019 impeachment.
While the resolutions were ignored by the Democratic-led House, they could get considerable support now with Republicans in the majority.
