What are the constitutional steps to impeach a president in 2025 and who controls them?

1. The constitutional authority and the high‑level three‑step frame

Article I and Article II of the Constitution allocate impeachment power: the House “shall have the sole Power of Impeachment,” the Senate “the sole Power to try all Impeachments,” and Article II Section 4 names treason, bribery, or other high crimes and misdemeanors as the grounds, a standard that is legal text but historically elastic and politically defined ^{[1] [5] [3]}.

2. How impeachment begins in practice: who can start it and how the House moves

Any member of the House can introduce an impeachment resolution or articles, and the body typically uses committees—most often the Judiciary Committee—to investigate, hold hearings and draft articles; the House then votes, where a simple majority is required to impeach and transmit articles to the Senate ^{[6] [7] [4]}.

3. The articles of impeachment and political control in the House

Drafted articles—examples from 2025 filings show charges framed as obstruction, abuse of power, or violations of due process—are political documents that translate alleged misconduct into constitutional language; control of the House majority and committee chairs determines whether investigations become formal impeachment actions and which articles reach the floor ^{[8] [9] [10] [6]}.

4. The Senate trial: constitutional rules and who runs it

Once the House impeaches, the Senate acts as trial court with Senators “on oath or affirmation,” and when the President is tried the Chief Justice presides; a two‑thirds vote of Senators present is required to convict, and conviction results in removal from office and possible disqualification from future office but not criminal penalties, which remain separate ^{[2] [3] [11]}.

5. Where constitutional text ends and politics begins

Congressional sources and scholars stress that impeachment is a “unique political process” largely unchecked by the judiciary; what qualifies as “high Crimes and Misdemeanors” has been contested since the Founding, meaning institutional incentives, public opinion, and partisan control shape outcomes as much as legal doctrine ^{[5] [3] [12]}.

6. Who controls each step in 2025 and how that control matters

Control of the House majority and committee leadership controls whether investigators convene hearings, draft and calendar articles, and bring a floor vote—so the majority party in the House effectively controls the initiation and framing of impeachment ^{[6] [4]}. In the Senate, control of the majority determines trial procedure, scheduling, and the practical likelihood of securing the two‑thirds threshold, so even if the House impeaches, Senate partisanship and arithmetic can block conviction and removal ^{[2] [3]}.

7. Legal constraints, remedies, and limits of impeachment

The Constitution limits impeachment’s remedial scope to removal and possible disqualification from future office and bars judicial‑style protections like jury trials; it also preserves separate criminal or civil avenues outside impeachment for wrongdoing alleged in articles ^{[11] [3]}. Historical practice and contemporary resolutions from 2025 illustrate both the constitutional mechanics and the political nature of enforcement ^{[8] [9]}.

Conclusion

The constitutional steps in 2025 remain: House investigation and vote to impeach by simple majority, transmission of articles, and a Senate trial requiring two‑thirds to convict and remove—each step legally prescribed but operationally controlled by the House majority for initiation and the Senate majority for adjudication, with political considerations often decisive in applying constitutional text to real conduct ^{[1] [2] [6]}.