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What formal congressional mechanisms exist to remove a president other than resignation?
Executive summary
Congress has one formal constitutional mechanism to remove a sitting president other than voluntary resignation: impeachment by the House followed by conviction in the Senate, which results in removal upon a two‑thirds Senate vote [1]. Congressional practice around impeachment — how investigations begin, who files articles, and committee procedures — is governed by House and Senate rules and long CRS summaries, but those sources do not describe an alternate congressional removal mechanism besides impeachment and conviction [2] [3] [4].
1. The constitutional route: impeachment in the House, trial and conviction in the Senate
The Constitution vests the House with the sole power to impeach and the Senate with the sole power to try impeachments; conviction in the Senate requires a two‑thirds vote and is the means by which Congress can remove the President from office [1]. The House approves articles of impeachment by simple majority; the Senate then sits as a “High Court of Impeachment,” with the Chief Justice presiding for presidential trials, and may convict and order removal upon the required supermajority [1] [5].
2. How impeachment proceedings typically begin and proceed in practice
Congressional materials and CRS overviews explain that impeachment may begin from a member’s resolution, a committee investigation, or referral of outside information; the House often authorizes inquiries or a Judiciary Committee investigation before drafting articles [2] [6]. The House may appoint impeachment managers to prosecute the case in the Senate after articles pass the floor [5]. CRS documents stress that procedures evolve from precedent and that Parliamentarians in each chamber advise on specific rule questions [2] [3].
3. Impeachment’s political as well as legal character
Analysts and members of Congress note impeachment is inescapably political: the House’s decision whether to move forward often depends on whether there is sufficient political will to secure conviction or to make the charges public, and the definition of “high Crimes and Misdemeanors” has been historically contested [7] [4]. Brookings and House materials underline that impeachment can serve remedial, non‑criminal purposes and has been used where misconduct did not necessarily produce criminal sanction [6] [4].
4. Recent and contemporaneous examples illustrate process but not alternative mechanisms
In 2025 there are multiple House resolutions and articles filed against a sitting president — for example, resolutions listing seven articles of impeachment — showing members can and do use the House’s tools to initiate removal proceedings [8] [9] [10] [11]. These contemporary filings reinforce that impeachment remains the formal congressional path to removal; the public record and library of Congress texts describe the articles and the claimed grounds but do not introduce any other congressional removal method [8] [9].
5. What the available sources do not say — and important limitations
Available sources in this set do not mention any separate, formal congressional procedure besides impeachment and conviction for removing a president (not found in current reporting). CRS products caution readers that procedural variations exist, and advise consultation with chamber Parliamentarians for authoritative guidance on rules and precedents — underscoring that nuances of parliamentary maneuvering cannot be reduced to a single checklist [2] [3].
6. Competing perspectives and implicit agendas to watch
Members who push for impeachment frame it as a constitutional duty to check executive misconduct, while critics often argue impeachment risks politicizing governance or overreaching into policy disputes; Congressman Sean Casten’s explainer and CRS commentary both emphasize that impeachment resembles indictment and is partisan by nature [7] [4]. Campaign or member press releases that introduce articles (for example, Congressman Thanedar’s) may carry political motives — advancing legal claims and signaling to constituents — so readers should distinguish the text of resolutions from neutral legal analysis [11] [10].
7. Bottom line for readers seeking options beyond resignation
Based on the Congressional, CRS, and official materials provided, impeachment by the House followed by a Senate trial and a two‑thirds conviction is the sole formal congressional mechanism identified here to remove a president; other sources in this set do not document an alternate congressional removal procedure [1] [2] [3]. For procedural minutiae or unconventional parliamentary options, the CRS and chamber Parliamentarians are the cited authorities [2] [3].