Honestly, the word "impeachment" gets thrown around so much on cable news that it’s lost its punch. Most people think it means a president is getting kicked out of the Oval Office right then and there. It doesn’t. Basically, impeachment is just a formal charge. Think of it like a grand jury indictment in a criminal case. It’s the "hey, we think you did something wrong" part, not the "pack your bags" part.
So, who can impeach a president? Under the U.S. Constitution, that specific power belongs to just one group: the House of Representatives.
Article I, Section 2 is very clear about it. It says the House "shall have the sole Power of Impeachment." No one else—not the Supreme Court, not the voters through a petition, and definitely not the military—has a say in this initial step. If a majority of those 435 representatives agree that the president messed up badly enough, the president is officially "impeached."
But they aren't gone yet.
Why the House of Representatives Holds the Power
The Founders were kinda obsessed with checks and balances. They didn't want the president to be a king, but they also didn't want a small group of elites to be able to dump a leader whenever they felt like it. By giving the power to the House, they ensured that the "people’s house"—the branch most directly accountable to voters—would be the one to start the process.
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It’s a two-step dance.
- The House of Representatives acts as the prosecutor. They investigate, draw up "Articles of Impeachment," and vote. A simple majority (218 out of 435) is all it takes to impeach.
- The Senate acts as the jury. They hold the trial. To actually remove a president, you need a two-thirds majority in the Senate. That is a massive hurdle.
In the history of the United States, we’ve seen the House impeach three different presidents: Andrew Johnson, Bill Clinton, and Donald Trump (who holds the record with two). But here’s the kicker—none of them were actually removed by the Senate. They were all acquitted.
The Weird Reality of "High Crimes and Misdemeanors"
You’ve probably heard the phrase "Treason, Bribery, or other high Crimes and Misdemeanors." That’s the constitutional standard for who can impeach a president and why.
Treason and bribery are pretty straightforward. If you sell state secrets or take a bag of cash to sign a bill, you’re in trouble. But "high Crimes and Misdemeanors" is a total gray area. It’s not necessarily about breaking a specific law on the books.
Gerald Ford, before he became president, famously said an impeachable offense is basically whatever a majority of the House of Representatives considers it to be at a given moment in history. It’s a political process, not just a legal one.
Some experts, like the late constitutional scholar Charles Black, argued that it has to be something that subverts the very nature of the government. Others think even minor personal misconduct could count if it makes the president unfit for office.
What Actually Happens During the Process?
It starts in committees. Usually, the House Judiciary Committee does the heavy lifting. They look at evidence, bring in witnesses, and argue about the law. If they think there's a case, they send the articles to the full House floor.
If the House votes "yes," the scene shifts to the Senate.
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This is where it gets theatrical. The Chief Justice of the Supreme Court comes over to preside. A group of House members, called "Managers," act as the prosecution. The president gets their own lawyers. The Senators sit there as the jury, but they aren't allowed to talk during the proceedings. They just listen.
At the end, they vote. If 67 out of 100 Senators say "guilty," the president is out. Immediately. No appeals. No second chances. They can also vote to bar that person from ever holding federal office again.
The Richard Nixon Exception
People often forget that Richard Nixon was never actually impeached. He resigned first. He saw the writing on the wall. The House was ready to vote, and his support in the Senate had evaporated. By quitting, he avoided the formal "impeached" tag on his legacy, though the history books haven't exactly been kind anyway.
Can a President Be Impeached After They Leave?
This was a huge debate during the second impeachment of Donald Trump in 2021. He had already left office by the time the Senate trial happened.
The Senate eventually decided that, yeah, they could hold the trial. The logic was that since one of the punishments is being barred from future office, the process still mattered even if the guy wasn't sitting in the Oval Office anymore. It was a controversial move, and constitutional scholars are still arguing about the precedent it set.
Actionable Insights for Following the News
If you're trying to figure out if an impeachment is actually going to happen or if it's just political noise, look at these three things:
- The House Majority: Does the party opposite the president control the House? If not, an impeachment is almost impossible.
- The "Middle" Senators: Are there at least 15-20 Senators from the president's own party who are publicly critical? Without them, there will never be a conviction.
- The Articles: Are the charges specific (like "Perjury") or vague (like "Abuse of Power")? Specific charges are easier to explain to the public, but vague ones are often easier for politicians to vote for.
Understanding who can impeach a president is really about understanding that the House of Representatives holds the keys to the kingdom, but the Senate holds the lock on the door. It is designed to be a slow, painful, and incredibly difficult process so that it's only used in the most extreme circumstances.
To stay informed on current congressional proceedings, you should regularly check the official House.gov and Senate.gov websites. These sites provide live streams of floor debates and the full text of any resolutions or articles being considered. If you want to dive deeper into the legal theory, the Constitution Annotated project by the Library of Congress is the gold standard for seeing how these rules have been interpreted over the last 200 years.