Impeachment Explainer

On July 10, 2024, House Democrats introduced articles of impeachment against Supreme Court Associate Justices Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito. The articles against Thomas and Alito, brought by Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY), focus on gifts from wealthy Americans with an interest in cases before the Supreme Court and the justices failure to recuse themselves from cases in which there may have been a conflict of interest including cases against Donald Trump and cases regarding the Jan. 6, 2021 Capitol attack. [27]

Only one Supreme Court justice has ever been impeached: Associate Justice Samuel Chase in 1804 for arbitrary and oppressive conduct of trials. He was acquitted in Mar. 1805 after a Senate trial.

Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas

House Republicans voted to impeach Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas in a 214-213 vote on Feb. 13, 2024. Mayorkas is only the second cabinet member to ever be impeached (the first was William W. Belknap, U.S. Secretary of War, who was impeached and acquitted in 1876). [23]

Mayorkas was impeached on two articles: 1. “willfull and systemic refusal to comply with the law,” specifically immigration law, which contributed to the “border catastrophe,” according to House Republicans and 2. “breach of public trust” for not “faithfully discharging” his duties. Mia Ehrenberg, Homeland Security Department spokesperson, countered, “While Secretary Mayorkas was helping a group of Republican and Democratic Senators develop bipartisan solutions to strengthen border security and get needed resources for enforcement, House Republicans have wasted months with this baseless, unconstitutional impeachment…. Without a shred of evidence or legitimate Constitutional grounds, and despite bipartisan opposition, House Republicans have falsely smeared a dedicated public servant.” [23]

The House of Representatives was scheduled to deliver the articles of impeachment against Mayorkas to the Senate on Apr. 10, 2024, but delayed the delivery to Apr. 16, due to concerns the Senate would not commit to a trial. On Apr. 17, 2024, the Senate voted 51-48 (with an additional “present” vote) along party lines to dismiss the first article of impeachment because it did not meet the constitutional requirement of “high crimes and misdemeanors.” A 51-49 vote dismissed the second article along party lines on the same grounds. The dismissal marks the first time the Senate did not hold a trial for articles of impeachment brought by the House. [24] [25] [26]

President Donald Trump

President Trump was impeached for the first time on Dec.18, 2019. The articles of impeachment include two articles: 1. “abuse of power” for soliciting Ukraine to interfere in the 2020 presidential election to Trump’s advantage and 2. “obstruction of Congress” for defying subpoenas issued by Congress. Trump’s Jan. 16-Feb. 5, 2020, first impeachment trial resulted in acquittal by the Senate. Both votes were along party lines, though Mitt Romney (R-UT) voted to convict on Article I (abuse of power) and acquit on Article II (obstruction of Congress).

President Trump was impeached for a second time on Jan. 13, 2021, one week before he left office. Trump was impeached on one article of impeachment: “incitement of insurrection” for the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol in which “a mob unlawfully breached the Capitol, injured law enforcement personnel, menaced Members of Congress and the Vice President, interfered with the Joint Session’s solemn constitutional duty to certify election results, and engaged in violent, deadly, destructive, and seditious acts.” Trump’s Feb. 9-13, 2021, second impeachment trial resulted in a second acquittal by the Senate. The vote was again mostly along party lines, though seven Republican Senators voted to convict Trump.

What Is Impeachment?

The U.S. Constitution gives the House of Representatives the sole power to formally charge a federal official who is suspected of committing a crime or abuse of power, using a process called impeachment. If the House approves the articles of impeachment (the charges of wrongdoing) in a majority vote, the official goes to trial in the Senate, which has the sole power to try all impeachments. If an official is convicted by two-thirds of the senators present for the trial, the official will be removed from office. All federal government officials, including the president and vice president, are subject to impeachment. [1] [2]

No U.S. president has had to leave the White House due to impeachment. [3]

President Donald Trump was impeached on Dec. 18, 2019 (acquitted on Feb. 5, 2020) and impeached for a second time on Jan. 13, 2021 (acquitted on Feb. 13, 2021), making Trump the only sitting president to be impeached twice. Presidents Bill Clinton (in 1998) and Andrew Johnson (in 1868) were impeached by the House of Representatives, but were acquitted by the Senate. President Richard Nixon resigned in 1974 rather than face impeachment. [3] [4] [5] [13] [14] [15] [17]

When Can a Federal Official Be Impeached?

According to Article II, Section 4 of the U.S. Constitution: “The President, Vice President and all civil Officers of the United States, shall be removed from Office on Impeachment for, and Conviction of, Treason, Bribery, or other high Crimes and Misdemeanors. [7]

Alexander Hamilton wrote in the Federalist Papers No. 65 on Mar. 7, 1788 that the grounds for impeachment “are those offenses which proceed from the misconduct of public men, or, in other words, from the abuse or violation of some public trust, adding that impeachment was “designed as a method of NATIONAL INQUEST into the conduct of public men.” [4] [8] [9]

Charlie Savage, Washington Correspondent for the New York Times, explains, “The term ‘high crimes and misdemeanors’ came out of the British common law tradition: it was the sort of offense that Parliament cited in removing crown officials for centuries. Essentially, it means an abuse of power by a high-level public official. This does not necessarily have to be a violation of an ordinary criminal statute.” [4]

What Happens in the U.S. House of Representatives?

According to Article 1, Section 2, Clause 5 of the Constitution, impeachment can only be initiated in the U.S. House of Representatives. The term “impeachment” refers to formal charges being filed (like an indictment). The person being charged does not have to leave office after being impeached by the House; instead, they will go to trial in the Senate. [3] [5] [10]

The process in the House can vary. It may begin with the House Judiciary Committee investigating and recommending articles of impeachment, which are formal written allegations of “treason, bribery, or other high crimes and misdemeanors” that the Committee believes warrant a trial. The House could form a special panel to investigate or skip the committee step altogether. [4] [5] [10]

According to Stephen Vladeck, Law Professor at the University of Texas, “the Constitution actually says nothing about the process the House is supposed to follow when it comes to impeachment inquiries, other than that it eventually has to approve articles of impeachment before sending the matter to the Senate. [11]

Regardless of which path is taken, the result is the articles of impeachment. The full House then votes on the articles of impeachment. [4] [5]

If at least one article gets a majority vote in the House, the federal official has been impeached. [4]

What Happens in the U.S. Senate?

After the House adopts the articles of impeachment, the process moves to the Senate. The Senate has the sole power to try impeachment cases at trial, according to Article I, Section 3, Clauses 6 and 7 of the Constitution. [4] [7]

In the Senate, a trial is held with the Chief Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court, currently Chief Justice John Roberts, presiding as the judge. U.S. Representatives from the House act as prosecutors, called “managers.” The impeached official may choose their own defense counsel. [4] [5] [9] [10]

No set rules for the Senate trial exist. Instead, a resolution is passed in the Senate laying out trial procedure before the trial begins. [4]

If the official is not convicted, they remain impeached but are considered acquitted and not removed from office. [4]

If two-thirds of the Senate, acting as the jury, find the official guilty of the articles of impeachment, the official is removed from office without possibility of appeal. In the case of a U.S. president being convicted, the vice president would become president. The Senate could then disqualify the impeached president from ever holding public office again with a simple majority vote. [3] [4] [5] [10]

Who Has Been Impeached?

The House of Representatives has impeached 21 people since 1797: one senator, one associate justice of the US Supreme Court, 14 federal judges, one Secretary of War, one Homeland Security Secretary, and Presidents Trump, Clinton and Johnson. [3] [12] [23]

Eight of those 21 were removed from office following a Senate trial, eight were acquitted, three resigned before or during the trial, and one had charges dismissed. One, Mayorkas, is still awaiting a Senate trial. [12] [23]

Source: US State House of Representatives History, Art & Archives, “List of Individuals Impeached by the House of Representatives,” history.house.gov (accessed Sep. 25, 2019)

Discussion Questions

1. Should the U.S. House of Representatives and U.S. Senate have a set protocol for impeaching a federal official? What sort of protocols? Why or why not?

2. Should federal officials who have been impeached be allowed to hold public office? Why or why not? What if they were acquitted in the Senate?

3. In what ways does an impeachment differ from a criminal trial? Explain your answers.

4. What are some examples of crimes or actions for which you think a federal official should be impeached?

5. Do you think the impeachment process is set up in a way that protects the best interests of the American public? Why or why not?

Footnotes