House Delivers Article of Impeachment Against Trump to Senate, Clearing Way for Second Trial
ROUND TWO
The House of Representatives delivered former President Trump’s article of impeachment to the Senate on Monday, officially allowing his trial on charges of inciting a riot in the U.S. Capitol to begin. The Senate trial for Trump—the only president to be impeached twice—is expected to begin the week of Feb. 8. A two-thirds vote of the Senate is required to convict a president, meaning at least 17 Republican senators would have to defect in order for Trump to be found guilty. Several top Republican senators have already announced they won’t vote to convict Trump, though Sen. Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) has said he will wait to hear arguments at the trial before deciding on his final vote. If Trump is indeed convicted, the Senate could then vote to disqualify him from running again—as he has considered—which would only take a simple majority of vote. The Chief Justice of the Supreme Court is tasked by the Constitution with presiding over presidential impeachment trials, but as Trump is no longer president, Senate President Pro Tempore Patrick Leahy (D-VT) will be presiding.