Donald Trump’s impeachment explained: Will he be leaving the White House?
As impeachment looms, Donald Trump wears a smile that seems to be saying, 'Make my day'. Photo: AP
Donald Trump is the third US President to be impeached.
On Thursday, the Democrat-majority House voted on the charges against him, guaranteeing a trial in the Republican-dominated Senate.
The US Democrats charged the president with abuse of power and obstruction of congress for trying to pressure Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to investigate his political rival, Joe Biden and his son Hunter.
The president reportedly also asked the Ukrainians to look into a Fox News conspiracy theory that suggested Ukraine, not Russia, was behind foreign tampering in the 2016 election.
At the time of the phone call, Mr Trump had suspended hundreds of millions of dollars in military aid approved by Congress for Ukraine to defend itself against Russia.
What happens now that Mr Trump is impeached?
Even though Mr Trump has been impeached, it is unlikely he will be removed from office.
Only two US presidents have been successfully impeached – Bill Clinton and Andrew Johnson – and neither was removed from office.
Richard Nixon faced impeachment for possible obstruction of justice over the Watergate scandal, but he resigned before the House could vote.
The indictment of Mr Trump will now move to the Senate, which has the power to remove Mr Trump from office if more than two-thirds of them agree to do so, in a hearing chaired by the chief justice.
But there’s a catch – given the Senate is dominated by Republicans, it is very unlikely they will convict him.
But what happens if Mr Trump is convicted?
Vice President Mike Pence would become president for the remainder of Mr Trump’s term, which ends on January 20, 2021.