Trump Was Impeached For The Second Time—What Happens Next?

Donald Trump is now the first US president to ever be impeached twice, and this is what could happen next.

The House of Representatives voted to impeach President Trump on Wednesday, making him the only US president to ever be impeached twice.

Following Vice President Pence’s refusal to invoke the 25th amendment, an article of impeachment was passed by the House, charging Trump with “incitement of insurrection” following the riots at the US Capitol last week by his supporters, which left several dead. A 232 to 197 vote in the House (including ten Republicans joining Democrats in favor of the resolution) saw the impeachment article adopted, removing the powers of presidency from Donald Trump.

So, what happens now?

The next steps in impeachment are to hold a Senate trial of Donald Trump, which leaves uncertainty in several regards with the unprecedented routine. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has refused to bring the Senate back early, meaning that the trial will likely not take place until after Biden’s inauguration on January 20, when Trump will officially leave office and Democrats will be in control of the Senate.

When proceedings make it to the Senate, the House will choose representatives to serve as prosecutors, while the Senate will stand as the jury. A two-thirds vote of the Senate is required to convict Trump—with Democratic control, this is more likely, meaning that if convicted, he will be disqualified from holding any office of honor (and barred from running for future office), trust or profit from the United States (including Secret Service protection and annual salary).

Though rarely done in US history, impeachment is typically to remove a figure from office. With Trump leaving office anyway, the other punishments are still enacted, yet he could also be independently indicted for state or federal crimes.

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