Impeachment starts in the House of Representatives. Members of the House of Representatives wanted to decide if President Trump had committed serious crimes. The president was accused of asking another country to help him win an election. He was also accused of trying to stop people from investigating this accusation. The representatives listened to experts. They examined evidence. They had a debate before they made their decision.
The House of Representatives voted to impeach the President based on the evidence. Not everyone in the House agreed, though. The vote was 237 in favor of impeachment to 198 against.
Now, the Senate will have a trial about the impeachment. The Chief Justice of the Supreme Court acts as the trial judge. Senators will listen to evidence. There may be new witnesses for the trial. After the trial, senators will vote on removing Trump from office. President Trump will remain in office if less than two-thirds of Senators vote to convict. He will be removed if 67 or more Senators vote to convict. Then Vice President Michael Pence would become the President.
People expect that the Senate trial will start in January 2020. First, the House of Representatives needs to send the charges to the Senate.
What Do You Think? What questions do you have about the impeachment process? How do you think the impeachment affects the United States?
Photo Credit: Official White House Photo by Tia Dufour
