Story perspectives

Trump pushes symbolic bill to erase impeachments

6/12/2026

Summary

Story summary

U.S. President Donald Trump is urging House Republicans to pass a resolution that would symbolically erase his two impeachments.
House Speaker Mike Johnson called the impeachments a hyperpartisan attack and voiced support for expunging them.
Retiring Rep. Darrell Issa introduced the expungement resolution in April.
The resolution now has 23 Republican co-sponsors.
Legal scholars note the Constitution provides no mechanism to undo an impeachment, so the measure is symbolic.

History

Historical Context

After the House voted 228-206 and 221-212 in December 1998 to impeach President Bill Clinton—the first presidential impeachment since 1868—the Senate acquitted him in February 1999. The episode remains a reference point as Speaker Mike Johnson and Rep. Darrell Issa introduce a 2024 resolution to symbolically erase former impeachments from the 1990s in Congress.

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Story summary

U.S. President Donald Trump is urging House Republicans to pass a resolution that would symbolically erase his two impeachments.
House Speaker Mike Johnson called the impeachments a hyperpartisan attack and voiced support for expunging them.
Retiring Rep. Darrell Issa introduced the expungement resolution in April.
The resolution now has 23 Republican co-sponsors.
Legal scholars note the Constitution provides no mechanism to undo an impeachment, so the measure is symbolic.

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