House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) said he would take a “look” at trying to expunge former President Donald Trump’s double impeachment.
In a press conference Thursday, McCarthy talked about the possibility of a new resolution to remove the impeachment now Republicans control the House. “I will understand why members want to bring it forward,” he said.
“I understand why people want to do it, and we’ll see.”
McCarthy did not provide further details.
Trump was first impeached by the House in 2019 for abuse of power after he tried to encourage Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to launch a fake investigation into Joe Biden before he would run for the White House, with Trump holding important military aid to the country.
Trump was later indicted for his role in the January 6, 2021 uprising at the US Capitol.
After the riots, McCarthy declared on the floor of the house that “the president is responsible [the] attack on Congress by mob rioters. He should have immediately blamed the crowd when he saw this happening.
Trump is acquitted in Senate trials after each impeachment, but impeachment by the House remains on the record.
Republicans in Congress previously floated a resolution to remove the impeachment, but never got around to it.
“It is very surprising that Speaker McCarthy would consider removing the impeachment of Donald Trump,” wrote Noah Bookbinder, president of the watchdog group Citizens for Accountability and Ethics in Washington, in a tweet Thursday. “Trump sparked a violent uprising and tried to overturn the election he lost. Congress should ban him from office.
Georgia State University law professor Anthony Michael Kreis scoffed at McCarthy’s position, tweet“Not sure about that.”