Republican U.S. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy on Tuesday, initiated an impeachment inquiry against President Joe Biden. This move pushes Congress toward an unlikely attempt to oust the Democratic president, following the two impeachments of former President Donald Trump.
McCarthy's action paves the way for an extended period of contentious hearings in the House of Representatives, which could divert attention from lawmakers' endeavors to prevent a government shutdown. Additionally, it has the potential to inject new energy into the 2024 presidential race, where Trump aims to seek retribution for his 2020 election defeat to Biden and secure a return to the White House.
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Procedure for impeachment
The impeachment process typically commences when the House takes action by passing a resolution to authorize an inquiry, or when a legislator introduces a resolution for impeachment.
Following the House's voting on impeachment regulations and the completion of its investigative procedures, articles of impeachment usually undergo committee review before they are presented to the entire House for deliberation. Approval of any impeachment article within the House signifies that the individual in question has been impeached, which is akin to an indictment.
The impeachment proceedings subsequently shifted to the Senate for a trial, with the chief justice of the United States presiding over the proceedings. Impeachment managers, selected by the House, assume the role of prosecutors tasked with presenting the case for the subject's removal from office. Senators, in turn, serve as the jury, requiring a two-thirds majority of all senators to convict and subsequently remove the subject from office.
Impeachment represents a political procedure wherein elected representatives in both houses of Congress bear the responsibility of determining whether to oust an individual from their position. Up to this point, the arguments against President Biden have not secured the backing of Democratic lawmakers in Congress.
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If the House, where Republicans hold the majority, were to impeach President Biden, a conviction would require a two-thirds majority vote in the Senate, where Democrats hold the majority.
