On December 18, President Trump became the third U.S. President to be impeached by the House of Representatives. The House imposed two articles of impeachment on the president. The two articles stated abuse of power and obstruction of Congress. Even though Trump has been impeached by the House, the Senate has yet to decide whether or not he will be removed from office.

What Was Trump Convicted Of?

The Democratic party accused the President of abuse of power and obstruction of Congress. The abuse of power charge is based off of Trump pressuring Ukraine into finding harmful information against Joe Biden and his son. From testimonial witnesses, Trump used the allure of a presidential meeting and funds for military aid to convince the Ukrainian president to help him.

The obstruction of Congress is directly related to this first article, as Trump was unwilling to cooperate with federal investigators into the matter. The House voted to pass both articles of impeachment and send them to the Senate for a full trial.

What Was Trump’s Reaction?

President Trump went on Twitter and denounced both articles of impeachment.  Trump’s posts serve to criticize his accusers and assure his innocence. He stated that his conversation with the Ukrainian president was not to abuse his presidential power and that it was only to ensure Biden’s son was not involved in a corruption scandal. Many of his Republican aides also claimed that the success of the articles of impeachment were a direct result of the Democratic majority in the house.

What is the Next Step in Impeachment?

Since the House has approved both articles of impeachment, both articles must be sent to the senate so that a full trial can be held. Republican leader Mitch McConnell and Democratic leader Chuck Schumer have both stated that they have differing views on how the trial should be conducted. As a result of this disagreement, Democratic House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has withheld the articles from being sent to the Senate.

Since nearly all Democrats and Republicans voted in an expected manner during the House impeachment inquiry, it is likely that the same will occur during the Senate trial. A Republican majority in the Senate almost ensures Trump of being not found guilty as it is unlikely the Democrats will attain the two-thirds vote needed for a removal from office.

Works Cited

1. https://www.nytimes.com/2019/12/18/us/politics/trump-impeached.html
2. https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-39945744
3. https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2019/12/23/trumps-impeachment-timeline-and-the-2020-election
4. https://www.businessinsider.com/when-does-senate-vote-on-impeachment-2019-12