Impeachments Vanish? House Plots Wild Erasure

Trump and his congressional allies are pushing to wipe his two first-term impeachments from the official House record — a move that would be unprecedented in American history.

Story Snapshot

Trump and allies are pushing to officially expunge his two first-term impeachments from the House record.
House Republicans, including Representative Darrell Issa of California, are advancing resolutions to make the impeachments disappear “as if they had never passed.”
There is no precedent for Congress expunging an impeachment, and no rule in the Constitution that allows it.
Even if the House votes to expunge, the Senate trials and the broader historical record would remain unchanged.

Trump Pushes to Erase First-Term Impeachments

President Trump and his congressional allies are actively exploring a plan to expunge his two first-term impeachments from the official House record. Trump was impeached in December 2019 and again in January 2021. He was acquitted by the Senate both times. Now, in April 2026, Trump and his allies have renewed that push, with Trump stating plainly, “I did nothing wrong.” House Republicans, led by California Representative Darrell Issa, are advancing a formal resolution to make it happen.^[3]

The effort has clear political roots. Trump and his supporters argue that both impeachments were politically motivated attacks by Democrats who wanted to damage him. From a conservative standpoint, that argument carries real weight. The first impeachment centered on a phone call with Ukraine, and the second followed the January 6, 2021 Capitol riot. Trump was acquitted by the Senate on both charges, meaning the constitutional process ultimately sided with him on removal from office.

What Expungement Would Actually Mean

The resolutions introduced by Republicans would treat the impeachments “as if such Articles of Impeachment had never passed the full House of Representatives.”^[1] That language is important. It means expungement would be a record change — a formal declaration by the House that the votes should not stand. It would not erase the Senate trials. It would not undo the testimony, the witnesses, or the proceedings that took place. The historical record of what happened would still exist.

There is no rule in the Constitution that allows the House to expunge an impeachment.^[2] The Constitution gives the House the “sole power of impeachment,” but it says nothing about taking that power back after a vote. Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington notes that expungement is not mentioned in the House Rules either, and that it would serve no legal purpose since Trump faced no legal penalty from either impeachment.^[4]

No Precedent, But Strong Political Motivation

This kind of move has never been done before.^[2] No president has ever had an impeachment expunged from the record. That alone makes this a major constitutional question. Supporters say the House has broad authority over its own records and procedures. Critics say the House cannot simply vote to undo a constitutional act it already completed. Both sides agree there is no clear legal roadmap — because this has never been tried.

For Trump’s base, the expungement push makes sense as a matter of fairness. Both impeachments ended in acquittal. Democrats used the process as a political weapon, and many conservatives believe the charges were never about law — they were about stopping Trump. Speaker Mike Johnson has signaled support for moving the effort forward. Whether or not expungement changes any legal reality, it would send a clear message: House Republicans believe the impeachments were wrong and want the record to say so. The debate over whether they have the power to do that is just getting started.