Donald J. Trump
The third president in U.S. history to be impeached
Photo via the White House under the creative commons
Official Portrait of the recently impeached President Donald J. Trump.
U.S. President Donald Trump was impeached by the House of Representatives yesterday, December 18.
The House spent Wednesday debating two articles of impeachment: one accused Trump of abusing his power and the other accused him of obstructing the congressional inquiry into his actions on Ukraine. According to the Washington Post, the first article passed 230 to 197 and the second passed 229 to 198. The votes set the stage for a trial in the Senate in January. Even though Trump is technically impeached, he is not removed from office and can still serve as president. The Senate determines if he will be removed from office. The House votes set the stage for a trial in the Republican-led Senate in January.
Can you believe that I will be impeached today by the Radical Left, Do Nothing Democrats, AND I DID NOTHING WRONG! A terrible Thing. Read the Transcripts. This should never happen to another President again. Say a PRAYER!
— Tweet by Donald J. Trump
The question of whether Trump can run again in 2020 is where it gets more complicated. According to the Washington Post, since 1912 the Senate has been holding a second vote on the issue of disqualification from future federal office after it votes for conviction. The Senate has also required only a majority vote for disqualification. If no disqualification vote is held, even a convicted official can reenter federal service.
So if Trump were convicted by the Senate, but the Senate chose not to hold a disqualification vote, or if the majority voted in favor of no disqualification, he could in theory run again. Though once disqualified by the Senate, Trump could never legally resume the office of president.
Alyssa Gehrke is a senior at Sartell High School. If she could steal one thing, it would be cartons of cheesecake ice-cream. After high school, she would...
