Democrats will likely file articles of impeachment against President Donald Trump again by the end of 2025. Trump was impeached twice during his first term, but both times, he was acquitted by the Republican majority in the U.S. Senate.
Democrats may gain a majority in the House of Representatives in the upcoming off-year elections of November 2026. However, securing a majority in the Senate poses a greater challenge. Even with a slim Democratic majority, conviction would be unlikely. An impeachment conviction requires a two-thirds vote of the Senate. Given the political landscape, it’s highly improbable that there will be enough votes to convict.
Trump’s acquittals on the first two impeachments have allowed him to assert his innocence and claim that the charges were politically motivated. Another acquittal would likely galvanize his MAGA base.
Impeachment is not the sole avenue for the legislature to condemn a president’s actions. Since the nation’s founding, resolutions of censure have been filed against several presidents. Censure serves as a formal statement by the House expressing severe disapproval of the president. Unlike the two-step impeachment process, a vote to censure is the final outcome. The censure judgment remains in effect and cannot be overturned by the Senate. If censured, Trump would lose the ability to claim exoneration. If the House censures Trump, the American people would have the opportunity to further judge the actions or inactions of Trump’s Republican defenders in the upcoming election. The House should opt for censure as a means of reprimanding the president rather than pursuing impeachment.
Sources
https://www.congress.gov/crs-product/R46185
https://thesexypolitico.com/2019/11/26/censure/
Thanks and a tip of the hat to DonkeyHotey for the image.
