Two-minute read. Written by a grade 5 student
So, first things first – what is impeachment? The United States describes it as – “a charge of misconduct made against the holder of a public office” – meaning that if someone who is holding a high office (government post) and is proven to have done something that he or she should not have done, then they can be formally charged (punished) and removed from office.
What are the grounds for impeaching a U.S. President?
According to the U.S. Constitution, the president can be removed from office by U.S. Congress (it’s a legislative body that has two chambers – they make laws, pass bills etc. It has the House of Representatives and the Senate – like the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha). The reason can be – “treason, bribery, or other high crimes and misdemeanours.” This usually means things like corruption and abusing of people’s trust, or using the powers for his or her own gain. The founders of the United States included impeachment in their constitution so that a president cannot use his powers in the wrong ways. Impeachment can remove a president from office.
So, how does impeachment work?
Impeachment begins in the lower chamber of the U. S. Congress, called the House. First they debate if there is any truth in the charge. Then they vote to pass an impeachment resolution, or what is called “articles of impeachment. If there is a majority, the president is impeached.
However, this does not mean the president will be removed from office. The only way for Congress to remove a sitting president is to find him or her guilty during a Senate trial. So, after the house votes to approve articles of impeachment a trial is then held in the Senate. The Chief Justice of the United States presides over this trial, and the 100 members of the Senate serve as the jury. A full two-thirds of the Senate jurors present needs to vote “guilty” for a president to be convicted and removed.
Has any U.S. President been impeached before?
Impeachment trials have been held twice before this. Once for President Andrew Johnson and then for President Bill Clinton. Both of these ended in acquittals: meaning the presidents were impeached by the House, but not convicted and removed from office by the Senate – which means that they were found guilty but the majority in the Senate did not vote to remove them from office. So, it’s important to understand that impeachment does not always mean removing from office. The other president who came close to being was President Richard Nixon, who resigned midway through the impeachment process.
So what did Trump do?
Trump misused his powers. SO, the thing is that the U.S. gives military aid (meaning money as a way to help) to Ukraine. Trump told the president of Ukraine that he will not release that if the president does not do some investigations on Joe Biden – who is a member of the Democratic Party and is a candidate for president in the U.S. 2020 election. Trump also tried to pressurize the Ukrainian president to support the theory that Ukraine, not Russia, was behind interference in the 2016 presidential election.
If Trump is impeached, who will be the President?
In that case Vice President Mike Pence would become president for the remainder of Trump’s term, which ends on Jan. 20, 2021.