This Week in Democracy – Week 73: Trump Wishes for Expunged Impeachments and Senate Parliamentarian Firing for 80th Birthday
Zeteo's weekly round-up, documenting the growth of authoritarianism in Trump's second term.
Donald Trump turns 80 this weekend. He’s preparing to celebrate with a bash that’s gobbled up resources from seven different agencies and adorned the White House lawn with a towering octagon arena and a “cage” where, as the New York Times put it, grown men will soon “beat one another to a pulp.”
If that doesn’t say ‘Happy Birthday’ to a U.S. president in the throes of trying to get a deal to end an unpopular (and illegal) war with Iran, contending with a near-record low approval rating, and raging over a soon-to-be-released book that’s already produced embarrassing details about his time back in office – most recently about the ‘White House freakout over the Epstein Files – we’re not sure what would.
Happy Birthday, King Trump. Happy 250th, America.
But even his birthday bash prep hasn’t kept Trump and his cronies from continuing their efforts to destroy U.S. democracy, undermine the Constitution, and hurt societies worldwide. From new corruption revelations to fresh lashings of the media to a report that Trump and his allies may seek to expunge his first-term impeachments, here’s ‘This Week in Democracy – Week 73’:
Saturday, June 6 – Accepting Only White South African Refugees
Mother Jones reported that the only refugees admitted to the U.S. under the Trump administration this year, through the end of May, are white South Africans.
Since Oct. 1, 2025, all but three of the 6,668 refugees accepted by the U.S. are white South Africans. The three, who were admitted in November, were from Afghanistan.
Sunday, June 7 – Trump’s Big Walkout
Trump stormed off the set of an interview with NBC’s ‘Meet the Press’ after host Kristen Welker asked the president to provide evidence for his baseless claims that the 2020 presidential election and the recent California primary elections were “rigged.”
Trump accused Welker of being either “crooked” or “stupid,” and said she has “no credibility.” Trump also called ‘Meet the Press,’ ABC, CBS, and CNN “one-sided” and “crooked,” and told Welker she “oughta straighten out your press” as he took off his microphone and walked away.
Monday, June 8 – Trump Wants Senate Parliamentarian Fired
On Truth Social, Trump urged Senate Majority Leader John Thune to “immediately fire” and replace Senate Parliamentarian Elizabeth MacDonough in order to pass the party’s voter suppression bill, the SAVE America Act.
MacDonough, who Trump called a “nasty holdover from Mitch McConnell” and a “Radical Left Lunatic,” had previously ruled that the legislation didn’t comply with the Senate’s Byrd Rule and wouldn’t be eligible to be included in a budget reconciliation package, which can be passed with a simple-majority vote.
Tuesday, June 9 – Indian Billionaire Invests in Company Secretly Linked to Trump Jr.
ProPublica reported that an Indian billionaire, whose family’s energy empire was targeted by Trump, “secured major policy wins from the Trump administration” after pouring at least $100 million into a Texas start-up that Donald Trump Jr. had secretly acquired a stake in.
Wednesday, June 10 – Mail-in Voting at Risk
CNN reported that newly proposed rules could result in the U.S. Postal Service refusing to deliver mail-in ballots in states that refuse to turn over lists of all voters who are set to receive mail ballots to the agency.
The proposed rules seek to comply with Trump’s March executive order targeting mail-in voting, which is currently being challenged in the courts.
Thursday, June 11 – Trump Seeks to ‘Expunge’ His Impeachments
The Wall Street Journal reported that Trump and his allies have talked about urging Republican lawmakers to pass a resolution “expunging” the president’s two impeachments from his first term.
House Speaker Mike Johnson said the move, which would only be symbolic and carry no legal weight, is a “priority,” though the Journal noted that a measure to void the impeachments likely wouldn’t be considered until after the midterm elections.
Friday, June 12 – Thousands of Parents Deported, Hundreds of Babies and Toddlers in ICE Custody
ABC News reported that just 3% of people detained by ICE during the first 14 months of Trump’s second term had been convicted of a violent felony, despite the president promising he would target the “worst of the worst.” During the same period, ICE apprehended the parents of about 14,450 children who were born in the U.S., roughly half of whom were later deported.
The reporting comes days after MS Now and the Marshall Project revealed that at least 500 babies and toddlers have been in ICE custody at some point during the second Trump administration, 10 times more than during the previous year under the Biden administration.
Did you miss previous weeks of ‘This Week in Democracy’? Catch up here. And check out more of Zeteo’s reporting from this week below:
