Republican House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (CA) indicated on Friday that he will support efforts to expunge the two impeachments of former President Donald Trump, US Media reported on Friday.
McCarthy said that he supports the expungements because one impeachment “was not based on true facts” while the other was pushed forward “on the basis of no due process.”
Earlier in the week, McCarthy indicated that he would not support any fast-tracked impeachment calls for President Joe Biden unless they go through the committee process and Biden is given an opportunity to defend himself. He noted that Republicans opposed the Trump impeachment that did not give him that opportunity.
The first impeachment of Trump passed the House of Representatives without a single Republican vote. The second impeachment, which was related to the January 6, 2021 riots and his alleged role in encouraging them, gained the support of ten House Republicans.
Both impeachments failed to secure a conviction in the Senate. McCarthy initially criticized Trump for the January 6 riots, saying that the former President bore some “responsibility” for the events of that day. However, he later backtracked that comment and has largely supported Trump publicly since.
The two resolutions aiming to erase Trump’s impeachments were put forward by Representatives Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) and Elise Stefanik (R-NY) on Thursday. Before they were introduced, Greene indicated that she hoped to see them on the floor of the House of Representatives as soon as possible.
Greene claimed that the resolutions would make it “as if the Articles [of impeachment] had never passed.”
Democrats quickly moved to criticize the resolution. “It’s telling who’s introducing them,” Representative Dan Goldman (D-NY) said. “And it’s essentially whoever’s trying to curry the most favor with Trump.”
Trump is currently leading the race for the Republican presidential nomination by a large margin. He is facing several legal challenges, including being indicted on 37 federal charges earlier this month stemming from his alleged mishandling of classified documents.