Picture Credits: US Department of Energy / US Government Works
Donald J. Trump, the 45th President of USA, has just become the third president to be impeached by the House of Representatives in the nation’s 242 year history. He was impeached by the lower house of Congress on two charges: abuse of power and obstruction of Congress.
The first charge was adopted by 230 votes in favour of the resolution and 197 voting against it; while the second charge was adopted by 229 votes in favour of the resolution and 198 voting against it.
On the first resolution, two Democrats opposed charging President Trump with abuse of power. On the second resolution, three Democrats opposed charging Donald Trump with obstruction of Congress. In the Republican Party, no Representative voted in favour of either of the impeachment article.
Tulsi Gabbard was the only Representative who, on both occasions, voted Present. Explaining her decision to vote neither in favour nor against the two resolutions, Tulsi Gabbard stated in the below video and tweet that “My vote today is a vote for much needed reconciliation and hope that together we can heal our country to usher in a bright future for the American people, our country, and our nation”.
Prior to President Trump, only two US Presidents have been impeached so far: Andrew Johnson in 1868 and Bill Clinton in 1998. As impeachment does not translate into automatic removal from office, it means that no president has so far been removed from their office.
Removing a sitting president from the Oval Office requires a successful trial by the Senate, which entails further assessments of the charges placed in the lower chamber and a vote on those charges. A successful trial in the Senate means that ’67 or more senators vote to convict’.
However, the Senate currently has 47 Democrats and 53 Republicans, which means that at least 20 Republican Senators will have to vote to convict a Republican President. Given that no Republican voted in favour of either of the impeachment articles in the House of Representative, it seems unlikely that the tectonic plates could shift in the Senate at this stage.
