‘These people look pathetic’: Pelosi slams McCarthy on expunging Trump impeachments

Nancy Pelosi slammed her Republican successor, House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, for considering expunging the two impeachments against former President Donald Trump.

“This is about being afraid. As I’ve said before, Donald Trump is the puppeteer and what does he do all of the time but shine the light on the strings. These people look pathetic,” the speaker emerita said Sunday on CNN’s “State of the Union.”

McCarthy told Trump, the current front-runner in the Republican presidential primary, that he would move to expunge the two impeachments against the former president before Congress breaks for its August recess, POLITICO reported last week. McCarthy, who leaned on support from Trump to win the speaker’s gavel last year, subsequently denied making that vow, though he said he supported expunging the impeachments.

If the California Republican follows through on attempting to erase Trump’s impeachments, it could have consequences for Republicans facing tough challenges in 2024 elections, Pelosi warned Sunday.

“Kevin is playing politics. It is not even clear if he constitutionally can expunge those things,” the California Democrat told CNN’s Dana Bash. “If he wants to put his members on the spot, his members in difficult races on spot, that is a decision he has to make. But this is not responsible.”