Omar Bennett
The United States Constitution outlines the impeachment process, which allows Congress to charge and try federal officials for treason, bribery, or other high crimes and misdemeanors. The House of Representatives has the sole power to impeach, while the Senate is responsible for trying impeachments and voting to convict or acquit the impeached official. The Constitution does not define high crimes and misdemeanors, leaving the interpretation open to debate and evolution over time. The penalty for an impeached official convicted by a two-thirds Senate vote is removal from office, and they may also be barred from holding future office.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Who can be impeached? | The President, Vice President, and all civil Officers of the United States |
| Who can impeach? | The House of Representatives |
| Who tries impeachments? | The Senate |
| Who presides over the trial? | The Chief Justice of the Supreme Court |
| What is required to convict? | A two-thirds majority vote in the Senate |
| What are the sanctions for an impeached and convicted individual? | Removal from office and potentially a bar from holding future office |
| Can an impeached official be tried after they leave office? | Yes, according to the Senate |
| Can an impeached official be pardoned? | No, the President does not have the power to pardon impeached individuals |
| What are the grounds for impeachment? | Treason, bribery, or other high crimes and misdemeanors |
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What You'll Learn
Who can be impeached?
The Constitution gives the House of Representatives the power to impeach federal officials, and it makes the Senate the sole court for impeachment trials. The House of Representatives can impeach a party with a simple majority of the House members present. This triggers a federal impeachment trial in the United States Senate, which can vote by a two-thirds majority to convict an official, removing them from office. The President, Vice President, and all civil officers of the United States are subject to impeachment. Federal judges are subject to impeachment. Within the executive branch, any presidentially appointed "principal officer", including a head of an agency such as a secretary, administrator, or commissioner, is a "civil officer of the United States" subject to impeachment.
The Constitution limits the grounds of impeachment to "Treason, Bribery, or other high Crimes and Misdemeanors", but does not define "high crimes and misdemeanors". The scope of "high crimes and misdemeanors" has been fleshed out over time, in a manner perhaps analogous to common law, through the practice of impeachments in the United States Congress.
Members of Congress and Senators are not "civil officers" under the Constitution and are therefore not subject to impeachment and removal. However, each House may determine the rules of its proceedings and may expel a member with a two-thirds vote.
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What are the grounds for impeachment?
The grounds for impeachment in the United States are outlined in the Constitution, which grants the House of Representatives the "sole Power of Impeachment". Article I, Section 2, Clause 5 of the Constitution states that the House of Representatives can impeach an official with a simple majority vote. This triggers a federal impeachment trial in the United States Senate, which can then vote by a two-thirds majority to convict and remove the official from their office.
The Constitution limits the grounds of impeachment to "treason, bribery, or other high crimes and misdemeanors". However, the Constitution does not define the terms "high crimes" and "misdemeanors", and this has been the subject of much debate. The scope of these terms has been fleshed out over time through the practice of impeachments in the United States Congress. While treason and bribery are considered clear-cut offences, "high crimes and misdemeanors" is a technical term borrowed from British legal practice, denoting misconduct by public officials against the government. This can include personal misconduct, gross neglect, usurpation, or habitual disregard of the public interest.
The practice of impeachment applies to the President, Vice President, and all civil officers of the United States. Federal judges are also subject to impeachment. Within the executive branch, any presidentially appointed "principal officer", such as a head of an agency, is considered a "civil officer of the United States" and is therefore subject to impeachment.
It is important to note that impeachment proceedings are remedial rather than punitive in nature, and an impeached official may still be subject to criminal or civil trial, prosecution, and conviction under the law. The President of the United States is constitutionally prevented from granting a pardon to impeached and convicted persons.
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What is the process of impeachment?
In the United States, impeachment is the process by which a legislature may bring charges against an officeholder for misconduct, with a penalty of removal from office. Impeachment may occur at the federal level, in state or local governments, and in tribal governments. The federal House of Representatives can impeach a party with a simple majority of the House members present. This triggers a federal impeachment trial in the United States Senate, which can vote by a two-thirds majority to convict an official, removing them from office. The President of the United States, Vice President, and all civil officers of the United States are subject to impeachment.
The Constitution grants the House of Representatives "the sole Power of Impeachment" (Article I, section 2) and "the Senate shall have the sole Power to try all Impeachments ... [but] no person shall be convicted without the Concurrence of two-thirds of the Members present" (Article I, section 3). The Constitution limits the grounds of impeachment to "Treason, Bribery, or other high Crimes and Misdemeanors", but does not define "high crimes and misdemeanors". The definition of this phrase has long been the subject of debate.
In impeachment proceedings, the House of Representatives charges an official of the federal government by approving, by a simple majority vote, articles of impeachment. After the House sends its articles of impeachment to the Senate, the Senate sits as a High Court of Impeachment to consider evidence, hear witnesses, and vote to acquit or convict the impeached official. A committee of representatives, called "managers", act as prosecutors before the Senate. The Senate can also vote with a simple majority to bar an individual convicted in a Senate impeachment trial from holding future federal office.
In the case of presidential impeachment trials, the chief justice of the United States presides. In the case of impeachment of the president, the chief justice of the Supreme Court presides over the trial. If the vice president is impeached, it is doubtful that they would preside over their own trial, as they normally preside over other impeachments as president of the Senate. The duties would then fall to the president pro tempore of the Senate.
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Who presides over impeachment trials?
The US Constitution gives the House of Representatives the sole power to impeach federal officials, and it makes the Senate the sole court for impeachment trials. The power of impeachment can both remove someone from office and disqualify them from holding future office. The Senate usually deliberates in private and requires a two-thirds supermajority to convict a person being impeached.
In the case of presidential impeachment trials, the Chief Justice of the United States presides over the proceedings. The Chief Justice must preside over the impeachment trial of a sitting president. However, the Chief Justice did not preside over the second impeachment trial of former President Trump. In his trial, Patrick Leahy, President pro tempore of the United States Senate, was sworn in as presiding officer.
For the impeachment of any other official, the Constitution does not specify who should preside. This role typically falls to the Senate's usual presiding officer, the President of the Senate, who is also the Vice President of the United States.
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What are the sanctions for an impeached individual?
In the United States, impeachment is a process by which a legislature may bring charges against an officeholder for misconduct. The sanctions for an impeached individual are limited to removal from office and potentially a bar from holding future office. However, an impeachment proceeding does not preclude criminal liability.
The federal House of Representatives can impeach a party with a simple majority of the House members present. This triggers a federal impeachment trial in the United States Senate, which can vote by a two-thirds majority to convict an official, removing them from office. The Senate can also, with just a simple-majority vote, vote to bar an individual convicted in a senate impeachment trial from holding future federal office.
The Constitution gives Congress the authority to impeach and remove "The President, Vice President, and all civil Officers of the United States" upon a determination that such officers have engaged in treason, bribery, or other high crimes and misdemeanors. The Constitution does not articulate who qualifies as a "civil officer of the United States". Federal judges are subject to impeachment. Within the executive branch, any presidentially appointed "principal officer", including a head of an agency such as a secretary, administrator, or commissioner, is a "civil officer of the United States" subject to impeachment.
The practice of impeachment makes clear that Members of Congress are not civil officers subject to impeachment and removal. The Senate has concluded that members of Congress (representatives and senators) are not "civil officers" for purposes of impeachment.
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Frequently asked questions
Impeachment is the process by which a legislature may bring charges against an officeholder for misconduct. Impeachment may occur at the federal or state level.
The President, Vice President, federal judges, and all civil officers of the United States can be impeached.
The Constitution limits the grounds of impeachment to treason, bribery, or other high crimes and misdemeanors. However, the term high crimes and misdemeanors is not defined in the Constitution and has been debated over time.
The House of Representatives has the sole power to impeach federal officials, and the Senate is the sole court for impeachment trials. A simple majority vote in the House is required to impeach an official, and a two-thirds majority vote in the Senate is needed to convict and remove the official from office.
