It doesn’t sound like the highly publicized ploys from leading Republicans in Congress including Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia to purportedly expunge the two impeachments of then-President Donald Trump are going anywhere.
There is no clear legal precedent for even taking the step, observers have noted. Though Trump was impeached twice, he wasn’t convicted either time, meaning those past initiatives from the House have essentially no substantive bearing on his current political standing. He remains freely able to run for office again, meaning expunging Trump’s impeachments — or at least purporting to do so — would also be largely without acute substance.
And now, CNN journalists are spotlighting new disinterest in the prospect of pursuing those expungements from Republicans in the House. Even Rep. Steve Scalise (R-La.), a top leader in the House GOP conference, didn’t sound eager. “I don’t think full membership has chimed in yet,” Scalise said. And Rep. Tim Burchett (Tenn.), a prominently right-wing voice among Republicans, went even further. “I don’t care about that, it doesn’t amount to anything,” he said.
There have been two formal proposals in the House to ostensibly expunge a Trump impeachment, one of which was sponsored by Greene. The other was sponsored by Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-N.Y.), who has prominently sought to ally herself rather closely with the former president’s cause. As of late this week, Greene’s expungement proposal has accumulated 11 cosponsors, with Stefanik’s at eight. Both were most recently set for consideration in the House Judiciary Committee, which Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) leads this Congress.
“Even though Trump wants the House to pass a symbolic resolution to expunge his two impeachments, he lacks the votes to do it and GOP leaders aren’t making it a priority,” CNN’s Manu Raju tweeted. Elsewhere, the Republican majority currently in place is slowly moving towards its own potential impeachments of top officials including Biden, though even a few defections could sink any such efforts considering the thin margin by which Republicans hold the House.
Even though Trump wants the House to pass a symbolic resolution to expunge his two impeachments, he lacks the votes to do it and GOP leaders aren’t making it a priority https://t.co/CtgHY8qsst
— Manu Raju (@mkraju) July 20, 2023
