Impeachment: On How to Remove an American President

Most of us have witnessed at least one Presidential impeachment (twice over). But objectively speaking, it doesn't appear to mean much when it comes to the role of the President, his/her duties, or any restrictions of power. In 1998 Bill Clinton was impeached by Congress for committing perjury relating to an affair with his young intern, Monica Lewinsky. He was acquitted in 1999 and remained in office. In 2019 Donald Trump was impeached for soliciting foreign interference in the 2020 election, and again in 2021 for inciting an insurrection on January 6th. He was acquitted on both accounts, though the second took place one week before the end of his term.

So why even bother?

The Founding Fathers included a section on impeachment in the Constitution as a critical check and balance on power, which gave Congress the authority to remove a President from office.

Washington as Statesman at the Constitutional Convention, 1856 -- Junius Brutus Steams

"The President, Vice President and all civil Officers of the United States, shall be removed from Office on Impeachment for, and Conviction of, Treason, Bribery, or other high Crimes and Misdemeanors." -- The U.S. Constitution, Article II, Section 4

Here "treason" is translated to mean betraying your country in an attempt to overthrow the government, and "high crimes" are committed by those who have taken an oath of office and may use that oath as a means to "circumvent justice," i.e. get away with things that you or I could not. This could include misappropriating (embezzling) funds, appointing unfit subordinates (cabinet members), not prosecuting crimes, promoting themselves ahead of others, and disobeying Congress.

I might note here that Donald Trump used charitable donations from a veterans' fundraiser to cushion his campaign, and hired 23 Fox News employees to work for his administration, and pardoned 1,575 January 6th insurrectionists, and directed political contributions to his own political action committees (PACs) rather than the Republican Party, and obstructed Congress' requests to provide documents in the first impeachment trial, and dropped 14 30,000lb "bunker busters" on Iran without asking for their permission.

But I digress.

So why haven't these impeachments worked? Why all the leadup, and then...nothing? It has to do with simple math. During Bill Clinton's impeachment trial Republicans in the House outweighed Democrats 228 to 206, with 1 independent member, so passing the impeachment resolution was pretty easy. It's also why Democrats easily impeached Donald Trump in 2019 and 2021, holding strong House majorities in both years.

But in order to remove a President from office, you must get a two-thirds majority vote in the Senate. As you can imagine, parties vote on party lines, so in order to get a two-thirds vote you either need to find a little party defection à la John Fetterman, or have a super-majority Senate like we haven't seen since the Johnson Administration in 1965. Thus all the impeachments we've seen in our lifetimes have ended in acquittals, a less-than-two-thirds vote to remove a President from office.

Gordon D. Sondland, the U.S. ambassador to the European Union, appeared before the House Intelligence Committee, 2019 -- The New York Times

And thanks to a 6-3 Supreme Court ruling that Presidents have "absolute immunity” for official acts committed while in office, we now have to prosecute what is considered "official" or "non-official," when it comes to Trump’s crimes. Theoretically, if he were to kill a man while in office he could still be charged, though I doubt he would.

"I could stand in the middle of Fifth Avenue and shoot somebody, and I wouldn't lose any voters, Okay?" -- Donald Trump, 2016

So what's the only other way to remove a President from his Presidency?

The 25th Amendment of the Constitution of the United States of America.

If it is decided that a President has the inability to perform his or her duties, that President can either make a declaration to Congress, or that President's cabinet and Vice President can make their own declaration, stating that the current President is unfit for the position. Congress then must vote, first in the House, then in the Senate, within 21 days of the declaration and with a two-thirds majority to confirm the President's removal from office.

There are only a few known cases for temporary or permanent removal/replacement, including Gerald Ford taking over for, first, Spiro Agnew as Vice President, then Richard Nixon as President, Section 3 specifically for four Presidents undergoing surgery, and nearly Section 4 after the assassination attempt of Ronald Reagan.

The memo noted Trump's active lifestyle, including "frequent victories in golf" - BBC/Getty Images

But, at least according to the Royal Physician, despite a regular diet of Quarter Pounders and Filet-o-Fish, Donald Trump is in "excellent health."

So where does that leave the American people? Short of walking out on 5th Avenue with a sawed-off shotgun, Trump will be embedded in the sandstone walls of the White House for at least 3.5 more years.

That is, unless his own people turn on him. A revolt. A letter from his colleagues to state his incompetence to do the job, and a two-thirds majority vote in the Senate, seats filled with every lawmaker he's run over with his proverbial bus. It sounds far-reaching, but we're seeing cracks already. Trump said on live television that his Director of National Intelligence, Tulsi Gabbard, was wrong about Iran's nuclear program. According to the Washington Post, Hegseth is playing little or no role when it comes to making the defense decisions coming out of the White House.

“Nobody is talking to Hegseth,” one official said. “There is no interface operationally between Hegseth and the White House at all.” - The Washington Post

Staunch supporters like Marjorie Taylor Greene are at odds with Trump's decision to bomb on foreign soil without consulting Congress.

"American troops have been killed and forever torn apart physically and mentally for regime change, foreign wars, and for military industrial base profits. I’m sick of it." - Marjorie Taylor Greene, X

Senator Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) has considered switching parties. Representative Thomas Massie (R-KY) voted "no" on the Big Beautiful Bill. Senator Rand Paul (R-KY) broke with Trump on the astronomically expensive proposed border funding. And many, many former allies opposed Donald Trump in the 2024 Presidential campaign, including National Security Advisor John Bolton, Chief of Staff John Kelly, Secretary of Defense Mark Esper, and even his own former Vice President, Mike Pence.

Vice-President Mike Pence is captured on security video being evacuated as rioters breach the Capitol on 6 January 2021 - The Associated Press

I leave you with this, for all those who are not just put out, but suffering as a result of every executive order, every action, every reaction, every kidnapping, and every rescinding of environmental policy, regulation, and human right:

"Take heart. Suffering, when it climbs the highest, lasts but a little time." - Aeschylus

Ellie is an author, editor, and owner of Red Pencil Transcripts, and works with filmmakers, podcasts, and journalists all over the world. She lives with her family just outside of New York City.