By: Emily Bracher

In recent news, an impeachment inquiry has been launched by the House of Representatives against Donald Trump. Impeachment inquiry occurs once Congress finds that the president has committed “treason, bribery, or other high crimes and misdemeanors.” Impeachment does not mean that the president will be removed from office, but it can lead to that. Inquiry is only the first step to charging the president of a criminal offense, two-thirds of the US Senate has to find the president guilty for them to be removed from office. 

This fiasco was sparked by allegations that Trump was assisted by a foreign power (Ukraine) throughout the early stages of his re-election campaign. It is said that he pressured Ukraine’s president to open a corruption investigation on former Vice President Joe Biden, who is a leading candidate in the 2020 Democratic presidential nomination. Such accusations have been denied by Trump, who referred to this impeachment inquiry as “presidential harassment.” This information was provided by two anonymous whistleblowers. 

As of Wednesday, October 30, a Democratic-led panel is expected to set the parameters of the public phase of the impeachment inquiry. Thursday, October 31, is when the full House of Representatives is going to vote on the new resolution, setting the rules. With Republicans being highly critical of the situation, Trump is pushing his allies to fight the accusations that he claims were not “wrongdoings”. 

In upcoming months, after the House votes, this will be taken to the predominantly Republican Senate. Only three other presidents have faced impeachment: Andrew Johnson, Richard Nixon, and Bill Clinton. Both Johnson and Clinton stayed in office after being impeached, but Nixon left office before he could be impeached. Since none of them were removed from office, this event could make history if Trump is removed from office.