Trump Pushes Congress to Erase His First-Term Impeachments

President Donald Trump and his allies have discussed pressuring lawmakers in Congress to approve a special resolution that would void and completely erase the two impeachment charges filed against him during his first term. According to a Wall Street Journal report citing people familiar with the talks in Washington, the effort is meant to give Trump a symbolic victory on an issue that has long bothered him and to clear his name from the House of Representatives’ official record.

Legal experts said the Constitution does not spell out a process for removing an impeachment, and they expect little practical legal effect even if the move succeeds. The push is part of a broader effort to polish Trump’s presidential legacy as his current term winds down, alongside other legal battles his lawyers are pursuing to overturn criminal and civil judgments against him.

Trump confirmed the idea in a phone call with the newspaper, saying, “It needs to be done because I did nothing wrong. It was a fake deal, it was a completely fake situation.” He repeated his long-running claim that the Democratic-led House investigations were politically motivated, while also trying to downplay his own role in advancing the plan. “If they want to do it, it’s an honor for me,” he said, while leaving the matter to House Republicans and his lawyers. He has also echoed press coverage about impeachment repeal but has not yet mounted a direct public push on wavering lawmakers.

House Speaker Mike Johnson said he discussed the resolution with Trump and has been in contact with leading conservative lawyers, including Alan Dershowitz and Jay Sekulow, who represented the president in the House before. Johnson said the talks intensified about a month ago after new materials from the first impeachment investigation surfaced, which Trump supporters say undermine key witnesses. “I think it makes a lot of sense that the more evidence is revealed, the more we know these were really sham impeachments,” Johnson said, calling the matter a historical distortion that should be corrected, though not a current top priority.

The proposal has also drawn resistance from more moderate Republicans, who warn that reopening the old abuse-of-power and incitement allegations could distract Congress from economic concerns, inflation, gas prices and the war in Iran ahead of the midterm elections. They fear that focusing on Trump’s personal grievances could hurt the party’s chances of keeping its House majority. Retiring Republican congressman Don Bacon criticized the effort, saying, “Maybe they gave up holding the majority? It’s stupid. What happened is history.” Other lawmakers also privately objected to the political timing of the initiative.