The Wall Street Journal editorial board’s stance on impeaching Donald Trump has been consistent in one respect and striking in another: it has treated impeachment as a blunt partisan instrument in both 2019 and 2025, yet after the January 6 Capitol attack it urged Trump to resign to avoid a second trial. That mix of skepticism toward the process and willingness to break with Trump at the sharpest moment defines the WSJ’s impeachment commentary on Trump across both of his terms.
What the Journal Said During the First Impeachment
The House impeached Trump on December 18, 2019, on two articles: abuse of power tied to the July 25 call pressuring Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to investigate Joe Biden, and obstruction of Congress for defying subpoenas. The Senate acquitted him on February 5, 2020, 52–48 on abuse of power and 53–47 on obstruction.1GovTrack. President Donald Trump Impeached for Abuse of Power and Obstruction Related to Seeking Political Favors From Ukraine2BBC News. Trump Impeachment: The Short, Medium and Long Story
On the opinion pages during the inquiry, columnist William A. Galston wrote in September 2019 that while Trump appeared to have “grossly abused the powers of his office,” impeachment was “not the best way to hold Mr. Trump accountable.” He suggested censure as a more realistic path for House Democrats.3The Wall Street Journal. There’s a Better Way Than Impeachment That framing captured the Journal opinion section’s prevailing read of the first impeachment: the conduct was serious, but the mechanism was being misused.
The Second Impeachment and the Call to Resign
Trump was impeached again on January 13, 2021, one week after the Capitol riot, on a single article charging “incitement of insurrection.” The House vote was 232–197, with ten Republicans joining Democrats. The Senate trial ended 57–43 in favor of conviction, short of the two-thirds threshold, with seven Republicans voting to convict.4BBC News. Trump Impeached for Unprecedented Second Time5Politico. Trump Second Impeachment Senate Vote
Here the Journal’s editorial board stepped away from its first-impeachment posture. In a January 2021 editorial titled “Donald Trump’s Final Days,” the board acknowledged that Democratic calls for immediate removal reflected “partisan animus,” but it did not brush aside the constitutional concerns Trump’s conduct raised. Its conclusion: “the best outcome would be for him to resign to spare the U.S. another impeachment fight.”6The Wall Street Journal. Donald Trump’s Final Days
That editorial stands as the Journal opinion page’s sharpest break with a sitting Republican president in the Trump era. It stopped short of endorsing impeachment itself, which fits the board’s longer pattern, but it refused to treat the second impeachment as merely a partisan exercise the way it had treated the first.
The Journal on Talk of a Third Impeachment
With Trump in his second term, Democrats have again floated impeachment, and the Journal’s editorial board has returned to its skeptical register. In a 2026 editorial, “Democrats Play With Impeachment Again,” the board flagged a town-hall comment by Sen. Jon Ossoff of Georgia, who “broached the I-word” in a way the board read as positioning for reelection. It distinguished Ossoff from Rep. Al Green of Texas, whose “default position,” the editorial said, is impeaching Republican presidents. The board characterized the broader Democratic discussion as reckless given that it was unfolding less than 100 days into Trump’s second term.7The Wall Street Journal. Democrats Play With Impeachment Again
That editorial sits alongside polling that complicates the political picture. An April 2026 Strength in Numbers/Verasight poll found 55 percent of American adults backed the House voting for impeachment, 37 percent opposed, and 8 percent unsure, with one in five Trump voters supporting it. Trump’s approval rating in the New York Times daily average had dropped to 38 percent from 52 percent shortly after his inauguration.8Mother Jones. Majority Backs Trump Impeachment, Even One in Five of His Own Voters The Journal’s editorial page has made clear it views a third impeachment as a mistake regardless.
The Impeachment Fights the Journal Is Weighing In On
The current round of impeachment talk the board is reacting to runs on three tracks.
Democratic Articles Already Filed
Rep. Shri Thanedar of Michigan introduced seven articles of impeachment in April 2025, alleging obstruction of justice, abuse of executive power, usurpation of congressional appropriations authority, abuse of trade powers, First Amendment violations, creation of an unlawful office (the Department of Government Efficiency under Elon Musk), bribery and corruption, and “tyrannical overreach.”9Michigan Advance. Michigan’s Thanedar Brings Impeachment Articles Against Trump Citing Sweeping Abuse of Power Rep. Al Green separately filed an article tied to U.S. strikes on Iranian nuclear sites.10The Hill. Mike Johnson Donald Trump House Democrats Impeachment Neither has moved in the Republican-controlled House.
Many Democrats are themselves wary. Rep. Jamie Raskin called impeachment an “utterly failed experiment” given recent history, and party leaders have signaled they prefer aggressive oversight to another impeachment likely to die in a Republican Senate.11Semafor. Democrats Gear Up for Oversight Onslaught Against Trump if They Win Midterms Republican leaders have used the prospect as a midterm message, with Speaker Mike Johnson telling Fox News, “we have to give President Trump four years and not two. Imagine if the Democrats took over the House, they’d impeach him.”10The Hill. Mike Johnson Donald Trump House Democrats Impeachment
Impeaching Federal Judges
Trump and his allies have also pressed to impeach federal judges who blocked administration policies. Chief U.S. District Judge James Boasberg issued emergency orders halting use of the 1798 Alien Enemies Act to deport people allegedly tied to the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua; Trump posted on Truth Social that the judge should be “IMPEACHED!!”12NPR. Deportation Flight Tren de Aragua Justice Department Boasberg Texas Rep. Brandon Gill introduced articles of impeachment against Boasberg (H.Res. 229), and Republican senators have called for impeachment of U.S. District Judge Deborah Boardman of Maryland over separate rulings.13National Law Journal. GOP Senators Push for Impeachment of Judges Who Blocked Trump Policies Chief Justice John Roberts took the unusual step of publicly rebuking the premise, saying “impeachment is not an appropriate response to disagreement concerning a judicial decision” and that “the normal appellate review process exists for that purpose.”
The Push to Expunge Both Impeachments
Running the other direction, Trump allies in Congress have moved to expunge his two impeachments. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene introduced H.Res.24 in January 2025 to expunge the first impeachment, with eleven cosponsors.14Congress.gov. H.Res.24 – Cosponsors A second resolution, H.Res.1211, targets both the 2019 and 2021 impeachments.15Congress.gov. H.Res.1211 – Expunging the Impeachments of President Donald Trump Forbes reported that Trump has discussed the effort with Johnson but that any serious push is expected to wait until after the November 2026 midterms.16Forbes. How Trump Is Trying to Clear His Record, Including Impeachments and Hush Money Conviction
Constitutional scholars have been nearly unanimous that an expungement resolution would carry no legal force. Georgetown’s Joshua Chafetz said “an impeachment cannot be expunged because it has effect outside of the House — that is, it causes the Senate to hold a trial.” George Washington University’s Jonathan Turley said impeachment “is not like a constitutional DUI. Once you are impeached, you are impeached.” Michael Gerhardt of the University of North Carolina said the idea would have “zero constitutional impact” and could set a “startling precedent.”17Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington. Impeachment Expungement Frequently Asked Questions18U.S. News & World Report. Can Republicans Expunge Donald Trump’s Impeachments Sen. Adam Schiff, who was lead House manager in the first trial, wrote on social media that “there is no expunging the stain of Trump’s two impeachments.”19Spectrum News. House Trump Impeachment Senate Efforts Congressional Resolution Indiana University’s Gerard Magliocca has offered a partial counterpoint, pointing to the Senate’s 1837 expungement of its 1834 censure of Andrew Jackson, though other scholars distinguish a one-chamber censure not mentioned in the Constitution from a two-chamber impeachment with concrete constitutional consequences.
Reading the Journal’s Position Across Both Terms
Pulled together, the WSJ editorial board’s pattern on Trump impeachment is coherent even where it looks uneven. In 2019 it saw partisanship driving a weak case and preferred censure. In January 2021 it treated the Capitol riot as a different category and urged resignation to head off a second trial. In 2026 it is back to reading Democratic impeachment talk as political positioning. The through-line is a preference for electoral and institutional accountability over impeachment, with one clear exception when the board judged the conduct too serious to wave off.