Some legal experts on the congressional power of impeachment believe President Donald Trump could be impeached and tried in the Senate even after he leaves office at noon on Jan. 20, NBC News reports.
As House Democratic leaders consider a vote on articles of impeachment as early as the middle of next week, here's a look at how the procedure would work.
The House can bring an impeachment resolution to the floor for an immediate vote, bypassing the process of committee hearings, which were held when Trump was impeached in 2019 and acquitted in the GOP-controlled Senate. In the normal course, skipping hearings would deprive impeachment proponents of the opportunity to build credibility and support by calling witnesses.
But in the current circumstances, supporters may consider that unnecessary.
It would take a simple majority vote for the House to impeach. Any articles of impeachment would then go to the Senate, where they could be referred to committee or be fast-tracked to the Senate floor.
In the Senate, a two-thirds vote is required to convict. Democrats, who will soon control the Senate, would need significant GOP support to convict.
If Trump were convicted, the Senate could then proceed to a vote on whether to bar him from holding future federal office. That would require a simple majority vote.
U.S. & World
No president has ever been removed from office by the impeachment process, and no president has been impeached by the House more than once.
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