President Donald Trump called for Maryland Representative Jamie Raskin’s expulsion from Congress on Thursday, accusing the Democrat of leading impeachment efforts against him and claiming Raskin would face prosecution if not for a pardon from former President Biden.
Trump made the call in a Truth Social post responding to conservative commentator Mark Levin, who had urged Congress to remove Raskin. “Jamie Raskin, a Loser in Life, who worked endlessly during my First Term to impeach me, and failed miserably, wasting the Country’s money, time, and effort, will guaranteed be trying to do it again,” Trump wrote, according to WUSA9.
The president then leveled the pardon accusation: “If Biden didn’t give him a pardon, he’d be in jail right now!” Trump stated, according to The Hill. Trump ended his post by endorsing Levin’s demand: “I agree with Mark Levin when he says to, EXPEL THE BUM.”
Raskin, a constitutional law expert and former member of the House Select Committee investigating the January 6 attack on the Capitol, led the House impeachment effort against Trump during his first term. Biden issued preemptive pardons to Raskin and other committee members in January 2025, days before Trump’s inauguration, after Trump had suggested that panel members “should go to jail,” according to The Hill.
Expulsion from the House requires a two-thirds majority vote of members present, according to the House History archives. Expulsions are exceptionally rare—only five members have been expelled from the House in U.S. history, according to reporting on recent expulsion votes. No expulsion motion has been filed against Raskin, and Republicans control the House with a narrow majority, making a two-thirds threshold unlikely without significant Democratic support.
Raskin responded to Trump’s attack in an interview with MS NOW, telling host Chris Hayes that Trump is “obviously having nightmare flashbacks about impeachment.” The lawmaker offered Trump a path forward: “There’s a very easy way to not get impeached. Stop committing impeachable offenses, stop committing high crimes and misdemeanors,” Raskin said, according to The Hill. “So the president needs a basic constitutional primer.”
The expulsion call marks the latest escalation in Trump’s attacks on Raskin, who has been a vocal critic of the president’s second-term policies. In recent months, Raskin has introduced legislation to establish a commission examining whether Trump is fit to serve and has challenged Trump’s “anti-weaponization” fund, which the president created to compensate January 6 rioters.
Sources
- WUSA9 — Trump’s direct quotes calling for Raskin’s removal and citing impeachment efforts
- The Hill — Trump’s pardon claim, Biden’s preemptive pardons, Raskin’s response interview
- House History Archives — Expulsion procedure and two-thirds majority requirement
