“Nancy Pelosi set to resign from Congress as Trump files impeachment lawsuits against her.”
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No, Pelosi isn’t resigning because Trump initiated impeachment proceedings against her
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- Claims that Donald Trump filed a lawsuit to impeach House Speaker Nancy Pelosi are wrong, and they misunderstand how impeachment works.
Under House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s leadership, the U.S. House of Representatives impeached former President Donald Trump twice.
Has he initiated a process to impeach her right back? That’s what a recent Facebook post claims.
"Nancy Pelosi set to RESIGN from Congress as Trump files IMPEACHMENT lawsuits against her," the Sept. 12 post says.
It was flagged as part of Facebook’s efforts to combat false news and misinformation on its News Feed. (Read more about our partnership with Facebook.)
We searched federal court records in Pacer, a case locator tool, for evidence that Trump filed a lawsuit against Pelosi, D-Calif., and found none. Although Pelosi has indicated she’ll be stepping down from the House’s helm at the end of this Congress on Jan. 3, 2023, we couldn’t corroborate the claim that she’s resigning over impeachment fears, as the Facebook post suggests. There are no statements indicating that from her, her office or in news reports.
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Plus, Trump — or anyone filing a lawsuit — can’t initiate impeachment proceedings against Pelosi. Article II of the Constitution gives the U.S. House of Representatives the sole power to impeach an official.
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So far, no House majority has ever impeached a president of the same party. It’s not clear a member of Congress can even be impeached, but for what it’s worth, no House majority has ever impeached a speaker of the same party, either.
Pelosi was named in a lawsuit the Republican National Committee filed involving the House select committee investigating the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol attack. But a federal judge rejected that case.
We rate this post False.
Our Sources
Facebook post, Sept. 12, 2022
Ballotpedia, Impeachment of Donald Trump, 2019-2020, visited Sept. 13, 2022
Pacer search for cases with Donald Trump as the plaintiff, Sept. 13, 2022
PolitiFact, Impeach a member of Congress? Over 200 years of history say no, Oct. 7, 2019
Republican National Committee, RNC files lawsuit against Jan. 6 committee and its members, March 9, 2022
The Washington Post, House Democrats begin preparing for the post-Pelosi era, Jan. 2, 2022
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No, Pelosi isn’t resigning because Trump initiated impeachment proceedings against her
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