Donald Trump Impeached: What next?

Washington, Jan 14: Donald Trump became the first President in American history to be impeached twice on Wednesday night, seven days from the end of his term. Trump was impeached by 232 to 197 votes for his role in last week's Capitol Hill riot.

Ten Republican Congressmen voted in favour of an article of impeachment on Wednesday that charged Trump with a count of "incitement of insurrection" for his actions on January 6, when he delivered a speech inciting his supporters to storm the US Capitol, an action that temporarily halted the counting of Electoral College votes and resulted in the deaths of five individuals, including an officer of the US Capitol Police.

Four Congressmen did not vote. All four Indian-American House members - Ami Bera, Ro Khanna, Raja Krishnamoorthi and Pramila Jayapal - voted in favour of the impeachment.

Senate trial

The impeachment now moves to the Senate, which will conduct a trial and a voting to remove the president from office. The Senate is adjourned till January 19, a day before the inauguration of Joe Biden as the 46th President of the United States.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has not yet announced the dates for the trial. In a statement, he said a trial is unlikely before Biden becomes the president of the country.

What if a conviction occurs?

If the Senate gives a two-thirds majority vote on any article of impeachment, the result is removal from office. The Senate can also vote separately if the person should be disqualified from holding office in the future. As per the Constitution, if a president is removed or resigns from office, the vice president takes over.

the trial will take some days or even weeks for the group of House lawmakers who will make the case against Trump and his lawyers to answer. So it is a long drawn process, can't practically happen until President-elect Joe Biden Inauguration on January 20.

So Trump will be out of office before the Senate trial ends?

Yes. After Jan 20, the senators will vote on impeaching a former President.