HRES 24119th CongressIn Committee

Expunging the December 18, 2019, impeachment of President Donald John Trump.

Introduced: Jan 9, 2025

Standard Summary

Comprehensive overview in 1-2 paragraphs

This new House resolution, H. Res. 24, dated January 9, 2025, seeks to expunge the December 18, 2019 impeachment of President Donald J. Trump. It claims the impeachment was wrongful and based on information from an unclassified FBI document (FD-1023). The resolution states that the impeachment should be expunged “as if such Articles had never passed the full House of Representatives,” arguing that the underlying facts did not establish “high Crimes and Misdemeanors” under the Constitution. In effect, the measure attempts to retroactively erase the impeachment from the historical record and to redefine it as if the Articles had never been approved by the House. It is important to note that this is a symbolic congressional measure. Even if adopted, it would not alter the constitutional process, the Senate’s actions, or the legal history surrounding the impeachment. There is no mechanism in law for a House resolution to erase past impeachments from federal records or to change constitutional findings; at best, the measure would express a House political position and influence public discourse.

Key Points

1Purpose: To expunge the December 18, 2019 impeachment of President Donald J. Trump, treating the impeachment as if the Articles had never passed the House.
2Rationale invoked: The resolution cites an unclassified FBI document (FD-1023) and asserts the facts did not meet the constitutional standard of “high Crimes and Misdemeanors.”
3Legal effect: The resolution would be symbolic-behavior only; it would not changes to constitutional text, Senate findings, or legal status of the impeachment. There is no mechanism for a House resolution to retroactively erase past impeachments from official records or affect the legal outcome of a Senate trial.
4Formal status: Introduced in the House on January 9, 2025; sponsored by Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (and several co-sponsors); referred to the Judiciary Committee.
5Constitutional reference: The text explicitly references Article II, Section 4 of the Constitution (the “high Crimes and Misdemeanors” standard) as the threshold for impeachment.

Impact Areas

Primary group/area affected: President Donald J. Trump’s legacy and public perception of his impeachment; the resolution frames the impeachment as illegitimate and attempts to restore an alternate historical narrative.Secondary group/area affected: Members and followers of the sponsors’ political coalition; the broader political and media environment surrounding impeachment history and accountability.Additional impacts:- Historical record and public discourse: The measure contributes to partisan debate over impeachment history and could influence how future generations interpret the 2019 impeachment.- Legal/constitutional implications: In practice, no binding legal effect; constitutional processes and past impeachments remain unchanged. The proposal would likely face skepticism about its legal viability and potential constitutional questions if any party sought to rely on it in other contexts.- Legislative process dynamics: This bill would highlight partisan differences around impeachment and could serve as a signaling vehicle for like-minded lawmakers, but it would require passage by both House and Senate and, even then, would face significant legal and political barriers to altering established impeachment outcomes.

Generated by gpt-5-nano on Nov 18, 2025