U.S. Presidential Impeachment: Impeachment: History and Process

This guide provides resources to help the user understand the history and context of presidential impeachment in the United States.

U.S. Impeachment

The United States has experienced two presidential impeachment trials, and is in the process of a third.  Although each impeachment trial may have unique procedural aspects, they all follow the same set of steps:

  1. A member of the House of Representatives introduces an impeachment resolution.
  2. The House Judiciary Committee reviews the accusations, and if a majority of the committee agrees, writes the Articles of Impeachment.
  3. The House of Representatives debates the Articles, then holds a vote; if a majority of the entire House agrees, the charges are then brought to the Senate.
  4. The Senate then holds a trial, in which the entire Senate functions as the jury, and the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court is the presiding judge.
  5. After the Senate has deliberated, they hold a vote; a two-thirds majority of the Senate is required to convict the President and remove them from office.

You can read more about the U.S. presidential impeachment process at Cornell Law School's Legal Information Institute.

The Impeachment Process

A diagram of the U.S. presidential impeachment process

[Image courtesy of Northeastern University.]

 

Further Reading

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