McCarthy Says House Would 'Look At' Expunging Trump Impeachments

House Speaker Kevin McCarthy said on Thursday that he would consider expunging one or both of former President Trump's impeachments.

At a Capitol Hill press conference yesterday, a reporter reminded House Speaker Kevin McCarthy about some of his members' interest in "expunging" at least one of Donald Trump's presidential impeachments.

Trump — now a 2024 candidate — was impeached twice during his four-year presidency: in 2019, for withholding military aid from Ukraine in exchange for political favors, and in 2021, for his role in inciting the Jan. 6 Capitol riot.

"I would understand why members would want to bring that forward," McCarthy said in response to a question at a press conference on Thursday, before steering toward the other key priorities for House Republicans.

"But I understand why individuals want to do it, and we'd look at it," he added.

McCarthy wasn't explicit about whether the House would actually consider expunging one or both impeachments, but expressed sympathy for Trump regarding allegations of colluding with Russians in his 2016 campaign and other things Trump "went through."

Trump was acquitted in Senate trials following both impeachments, but the impeachments by the House remain part of the historical record and an indictment of the former president.

In the last Congress, a group of more than 30 House Republicans led by Oklahoma Rep. Markwayne Mullin put forward a resolution to expunge Trump's impeachment in the wake of the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol. The resolution was supported by the fourth-ranking Republican in the House, Republican Conference Chairwoman Elise Stefanik of New York.

In January 2021, McCarthy said Trump "bears responsibility" for the storming of the Capitol by a pro-Trump mob.

"[Trump] should have immediately denounced the mob when he saw what was unfolding," McCarthy said on the House floor on Jan. 13, 2021. "These facts require immediate action by President Trump."

Despite the condemnation, in late January 2021, McCarthy traveled to Trump's private Mar-a-Lago Club in Florida and coveted the former president's endorsement during his run for the speakership.

No impeached president has ever had the sentence expunged from their record. The last incident of a similar nature came in 1834, when then-President Andrew Jackson was censured by lawmakers, only to have his allies expunge the act in 1837 when control of the Senate switched party control.