What You Need to Know About Impeachment

On Wednesday, January 13, U.S. lawmakers voted to impeach President Donald Trump. Impeachment is the first step in a process that can result in a president’s removal from office. The House of Representatives has charged the president with encouraging violence at the U.S. Capitol building last week.

Here’s a look at how the nation got to this point and what comes next.

Many people think being impeached means getting fired. That’s not quite right. Impeachment involves charging the president or another U.S. government official with breaking the law or behaving improperly. That might include purposely putting the country in danger. It might also include using his or her position for personal gain.

Only the House of Representatives can impeach someone. If lawmakers believe a president has done something wrong, they write up official charges. These are called articles of impeachment. Then all 435 members of the House vote on each article. If more than half the representatives (at least 218) support any article, the person is impeached.

The Framers of the Constitution wanted to make sure presidents didn’t have too much power. Before the American Revolution (1775-1783), the colonists had been ruled by the king of England. The Framers were worried about giving one person too much power. So they divided the U.S. government into three branches. Each branch has the ability to limit another branch’s power (see “A Balance of Power,” below).

The power of impeachment was given to Congress. Congress is the lawmaking branch of the government.

Congress has impeached only three presidents in U.S. history, including Trump in 2019. But none were found guilty. Each remained in office.

The House charged him with “inciting violence against the government of the United States.” Trump was charged with encouraging people to storm the U.S. Capitol on January 6. On that day, Congress was meeting there. Lawmakers were set to officially declare the winner of the 2020 presidential election.

Nearby, Trump spoke in front of a group of his supporters. He falsely claimed that he had won the election. He also urged his supporters to walk to the Capitol. “If you don’t fight,” he said, “you’re not going to have a country anymore.”

After Trump’s speech, thousands of his supporters surrounded the Capitol. They pushed past police and broke into the building. They smashed windows and stole government property. Vice President Mike Pence and members of Congress had to be moved to a safer place. More than a dozen police officers were injured. Dozens of people have been arrested. Several people died.

Still, Trump says he is not guilty. He has stated that his speech was “totally appropriate.” 

No. The next step is a trial. It will be similar to courtroom trials you may have seen on TV. But this one will be held in the U.S. Senate. The Constitution says the president would be removed from office if at least two-thirds of the Senate voted that he is guilty. That means 67 senators out of 100 would need to vote that way.

Trump’s time as president ends on January 20. Joe Biden will be sworn in as the 46th U.S. president on that day. It is unlikely that the trial will begin before that.

Some lawmakers say it’s important to hold Trump responsible for his actions. 

Experts say it’s unclear how the trial will go. Some senators have spoken out against putting Trump on trial. They say the country is already too divided. But other senators say it is important to show that a president who encourages violence will face consequences.