Impeachment of president trump?
Executive summary
The question "impeachment of President Trump?" requires separating (a) historical fact — Donald J. Trump has been impeached twice and acquitted twice — from (b) the current political moment, where new articles have been circulated and calls for impeachment have reappeared but no definitive removal has occurred; past impeachments ended in Senate acquittals and removal remains rare under the Constitution [1] [2] [3]. Reporting is mixed about whether a fresh, fully realized impeachment process is underway: some outlets note no formal House process has been completed as of their pieces, while congressional documents show text of a new resolution introduced in the 119th Congress [4] [5].
1. The constitutional baseline: what impeachment is and how it works
Impeachment is a political charge brought by the House and tried in the Senate; conviction and removal require a two‑thirds Senate vote, and historically the House has initiated dozens of inquiries but ultimate removals have been rare — only eight federal officials ever removed by the Senate were judges, and presidents impeached to date (Johnson, Clinton, Trump) have not been removed after Senate trials [3] [6]. Constitutional scholars and historical practice also emphasize that "high Crimes and Misdemeanors" need not be indictable criminal offenses, a principle debated in prior Trump proceedings and memorialized in analysis by the Library of Congress and legal commentaries [7] [8].
2. The record so far: two past impeachments and acquittals
Donald Trump was impeached by the House in December 2019 and again in January 2021 — the latter for incitement of insurrection after the January 6 attack — and in both instances the Senate acquitted him; the 2021 trial resulted in a 57–43 vote to acquit, short of the two‑thirds threshold needed for conviction [9] [2]. These past proceedings inform current politics: prosecutors in the House and defense teams in the Senate clashed over evidentiary standards, executive privilege, and whether the conduct met the constitutional standard for removal, lines of argument that persisted across both impeachments [7] [8].
3. The present moment: new articles, renewed calls, and partisan arithmetic
In the current congressional term a resolution titled H.Res.537—text declaring that Donald J. Trump "is impeached for high crimes and misdemeanors" and enumerating alleged abuses including unauthorized use of force—was placed on Congress.gov, indicating formal articles have been drafted and made public in the 119th Congress [5]. Simultaneously, news reporting cautions that "no formal impeachment proceedings... have commenced" in some outlets, and that much depends on House majorities, investigatory work, and electoral outcomes; commentators also note renewed calls for impeachment tied to recent foreign‑policy actions such as the Venezuela operation [4] [10]. The slim margins and party discipline in both chambers mean even introduced articles face steep odds of leading to conviction absent a large cross‑party defection, a political reality underscored by past votes where bipartisan support for conviction was limited [11] [12].
4. Legal and political hurdles that decide outcomes
Beyond the partisan arithmetic, practical hurdles shape any impeachment’s fate: the House must adopt articles by majority, the House managers must marshal admissible evidence and witnesses, and the Senate must agree to a trial and then secure two‑thirds of senators to convict — standards that historically have defeated presidential removal despite impeachments being adopted [3] [7]. Legal arguments that the Senate lacks jurisdiction for an ex‑post trial of a former president, and debates over whether alleged acts constitute impeachable "high Crimes and Misdemeanors" rather than political wrongdoing, have recurred in court filings and Senate floor debate during Trump’s prior trials and are likely to resurface [13] [8].
5. Where reporting leaves gaps and the alternative viewpoints
Sources show both concrete steps (published articles/resolution text) and skeptical reportage that says formal proceedings were not yet underway, reflecting a gap between introduction of articles and an invested, institutionally robust impeachment process likely to result in removal [5] [4]. Supporters of impeachment emphasize accountability for alleged abuses and unilateral uses of force [5] [10], while opponents argue the actions are political or non‑criminal and warn of weaponizing impeachment for partisan ends — an argument made repeatedly in prior trials and legal briefs [13] [8]. Reporting does not fully disclose whether H.Res.537 has cleared the House or received committee hearings as of these sources, so the material limit of public reporting must be acknowledged [5] [4].