In a widely criticized move, former President Donald Trump opted for largescale pardon on his first day back in office, on January 20, 2025. Trump extended his clemency to an extraordinary amount of people, over 1,500, who were convicted due to their involvement in the infamous storming of the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021. Even though this substantial act faced reprovals, no Senate Republicans have signaled support for a potential impeachment of Trump.
Despite the waves stirred by this action, rumors that Republicans want to impeach Trump, as suggested by an unverified X account, are baseless. This account, notorious for spreading fake news, indicates the presence of a supposed impeachment support majority in the Senate without substantiating its claims with credible sources. The account alarmingly alleges that the senators endorse impeachment over Trump’s pardons related to the Capitol attack, a narrative plainly inconsistent with their public stances.
Communication attempts with the account to shed more light on these claims fell on deaf ears. In fact, no reputable news outlets have reported on or supported this contentious assertion. In the current political climate, these rampant rumors contribute to the misleading discourse without offering any tangible proof or evidence.
Amidst the numerous arguments cropping up on the Capitol attack pardons, a few Republican voices have expressed dissatisfaction. They disagreed with Trump’s decision to pardon individuals who took partin the Capitol attack, most of whom engaged in violent crimes against law enforcement personnel. Nevertheless, their criticism doesn’t translate into an endorsement of an impeachment proceeding against Trump, as the rumors would have it.
Republicans like Senator Bill Cassidy, R-La., publicly stated their objections, insisting that those guilty of assaulting officers should face their corresponding penalties. According to Politico, Senators Thom Tillis, R-N.C., Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, and Susan Collins, R-Maine, have also echoed the sentiment of disappointment towards Trump’s unprecedented decision.
Cassidy, Murkowski, and Collins, in a surprising move, were part of the small group of seven Republicans who previously voted for Trump’s conviction in the wake of the Capitol attack in 2021. However, drawing an inference from their past voting patterns to suggest they would support impeaching Trump over the recent pardons could be a far-reaching conclusion.
While Newsweek reported an organization’s intention to initiate another impeachment of Trump, no notable signs emerged concerning the Republicans’ potential support for such an extreme course of action. It’s important to highlight that the impeachment record of Trump during his first tenure in office didn’t end in favor of the Democrats, despite their majoritarian status in the House.
The previous impeachments, one related to pressuring Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to investigate Joe Biden, and the other resulting from charges of inciting an insurrection, did not succeed. Ultimately, the Senate acquitted Trump each time, despite the proceedings initiated by a Democrat-led House. This historical context undoubtedly leaves room for doubt about the success of the potential impeachment.
Unfounded claims about a burgeoning impeachment movement against Trump, posted by various social media users in the subsequent days after his inauguration, have only intensified the controversy. Among these are claims that Representatives Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., and Jamie Raskin, D-Md., have filed articles of impeachment against Trump; however, this stands as an utterly baseless claim.
The Republican-controlled House is highly unlikely to pass an impeachment motion, revealing the misleading nature of these rumors. It would take a significant realignment of support, specifically, twenty Republican senators siding with all Democrats to convict Trump on impeachment charges, an event that is very unlikely given historical and current trends.
Additionally, most of the senators who voted against convicting Trump in 2021 are still in office. Purely from an analytical standpoint, should they decide to base their action on historical backing, it becomes apparent that there is little support within the conference to convict Trump.
Highlighting the origin of these rumors, the X account named ‘Politics Video’, has a troubling history of posting unsubstantiated information and spreading misleading narratives, often aimed directly at Trump and Republicans. The account has repeatedly insinuated that the Republican-majority Congress may impeach Trump, employing the usage of unconfirmed and non-credible sources.
Earlier, in the month of December, the X account forwarded the fallacy that Kamala Harris, then the Vice President, was legally qualified to reject the certification of Trump’s election due to the events of January 6. This claim fundamentally misinterprets the Constitutional role of the Vice President during the certification process of an election, which is merely ceremonial.
The account, created in February 2016, started its public posting spree from December 2017. FactCheck.org unmasked an Australian email address connection with the ‘Politics Video Channel’ website in a 2024 article, adding to the unreliability quotient of the X account. However, the account is still actively spreading misinformation, much to the disadvantage of sensible discourse.
A claim suggesting the possibility of the Senate removing Trump from office following a House-imposed impeachment was originated by the X account. This claim, like many others propagated by this source, lacks substantial backing from credible sources or evidence, leaving the claim baseless.
Consequently, with the majority of Republican senators still expressing their support for Trump’s presidency, none have voiced an alignment with the suggestion of impeachment for any new offense. Ultimately, despite the fervor and unsubstantiated rumors scattered across social media platforms, the idea of a new impeachment against Trump lacks considerable support.