Which House committees would handle impeachment articles and what procedural steps must occur before a floor vote?
Executive summary
The House Judiciary Committee ordinarily conducts impeachment investigations and drafts articles of impeachment, but other standing committees or specially created select committees can investigate, gather evidence, and feed referrals to Judiciary; ultimately the full House votes on any articles by simple majority [1] [2] [3]. Before a floor vote the House follows a series of procedural steps — inquiry authorization or referral, committee investigation and markup, committee vote to report articles, and then one of several floor procedures that govern debate, amendment and final passage [4] [5] [6].
1. Who leads the work: Judiciary as gatekeeper (but not the only player)
Constitutional practice and House precedent place the Committee on the Judiciary at the center of producing articles of impeachment: it typically determines whether grounds for impeachment exist, drafts the articles, holds a markup where amendments may be offered, and votes to report them to the House [2] [5] [7]. That central role, reflected repeatedly in the historical record, is not exclusive: the House has long used other committees to develop investigative records (for example, multiple committees during the 2019 inquiry) and special or select committees have been employed when jurisdiction or political decisions make it preferable [4] [3] [1].
2. Which other committees can — and do — participate
Investigations that yield material for potential articles often come from several standing committees with relevant jurisdiction — Intelligence, Oversight and Reform, Foreign Affairs, Financial Services, Ways and Means, Homeland Security and others have been directed to investigate in past inquiries — and their findings are commonly transferred to or coordinated with Judiciary for legal assessment and drafting [4] [8] [3]. House practice allows committees to exercise subpoena power and compile evidence within their jurisdiction before a Judiciary-led markup, and sometimes the House authorizes multiple committees explicitly to continue parallel probes [8] [7].
3. The formal trigger: inquiry authorization and referrals
Impeachment can begin in different ways: a member's resolution, a message, or a referral based on investigative findings; frequently the House first adopts a resolution authorizing an impeachment inquiry or directs specific committees to investigate, which clarifies the scope and can alter procedural protections like witnesses’ participation [9] [4] [8]. While the Constitution is silent on internal House rules for inquiries, the chamber’s rules and past resolutions (e.g., H. Res. 660 in 2019) have been used to set investigatory procedures, confer subpoena authority and define which committees participate [6] [8] [7].
4. Committee work: investigation, markup, and reporting
Once empowered, committees subpoena witnesses, hold hearings, collect documents, and then the Judiciary Committee (or the referring committee) conducts a markup to convert findings into formal articles of impeachment; a majority of the committee must approve reporting those articles to the full House [5] [9]. Committees’ reports are advisory in that the full House may proceed with or without a committee recommendation, but in modern practice committee approval is the usual precondition to sending articles to the floor [3] [10].
5. From committee to floor: privileged status and multiple paths to a vote
Articles of impeachment reported by committee are privileged for immediate consideration on the House floor, meaning the committee chair (or designee) can call them up when no other business is pending and the majority can control debate and amendments under the so‑called hour rule and by moving the previous question [6]. Alternatively, the House may structure floor consideration through a Rules Committee resolution, unanimous consent, or even suspension of the rules — each option sets different limits on debate, amendment and motions [6]. If the full House approves an article by a simple majority, the official is impeached and managers are appointed to present the case to the Senate [6] [11].
6. Where reporting leaves open questions and political realities
The sources document legal and procedural options clearly but do not fix a single path: political choices — which committees lead, whether the House adopts a formal inquiry resolution, and what floor procedure the majority selects — determine timing and scope [4] [6]. Past practice shows flexibility: special/select committees, multiple investigative panels, and House rule maneuvers have all been used; where the sources do not specify a particular contemporary decision, reporting cannot determine which mix of committees or floor rules will be chosen in any future case [3] [8].