How impeachment actually works

The U.S. Constitution lets Congress remove a president for "treason, bribery, or other high crimes and misdemeanors" — but the process has two separate stages that are easy to confuse:

For a fuller history of the process, see our guide to U.S. presidents who were impeached.

Impeached is not the same as removed

This is the single most important point. Being impeached does not mean a president leaves office — it means the House has formally charged them. No U.S. president has ever been removed through impeachment. Every president the House has impeached was later acquitted by the Senate. Donald Trump himself was impeached twice during his first term — in December 2019 (over his dealings with Ukraine) and January 2021 (over the January 6 Capitol attack) — and the Senate acquitted him both times, so he remained in office on each occasion.

The current impeachment efforts (October 2026)

Note: this section covers an ongoing, fast-moving political situation and reflects the status as of October 2026. It is likely to change.

During President Trump's second term, several individual members of the House have introduced impeachment measures. According to reporting, in September 2026 Rep. Steve Cohen (D-Tennessee) introduced a set of 26 articles of impeachment; the articles allege, among other things, misconduct related to military actions abroad, immigration enforcement, and misuse of federal funds. Separately, a resolution brought by Rep. Al Green (H.RES.1486) drew 147 votes to advance — all from Democrats — before the House set it aside, with 18 Democrats joining Republicans to table it and others voting "present."

Crucially, none of these measures has been adopted by the full House, which is the step required for an actual impeachment. The House is currently controlled by Republicans, and reporting notes that such efforts are expected to fail in a Republican-led chamber. Supporters of the measures argue the alleged conduct meets the constitutional standard; critics, including Republican leaders, characterize the efforts as politically motivated and premature. This article does not take a position on those claims — it describes where the process stands.

Why removal remains unlikely

Even if the House were to impeach, removal is a much steeper climb. Conviction in the Senate requires 67 votes. The Senate currently stands at roughly 53 Republicans to 47 Democrats, so removing Trump would require a large number of Republican senators to vote against a president of their own party — something that has never happened in a U.S. presidential impeachment trial. In Trump's 2021 trial, 57 senators voted to convict, still 10 short of the 67 required. The two-thirds threshold is exactly why impeachment has historically been a political statement rather than a path to removal.

The 2026 midterms connection

This is why attention has shifted to the November 3, 2026 midterm elections. Because impeachment in the House needs only a simple majority, control of the House matters enormously. If Democrats win the House, they would have the votes to pass articles of impeachment without any Republican support — though party leaders would still have to decide whether to pursue it. Winning the House, however, would not change the Senate math: removal would still require 67 votes. In short, the midterms could determine whether a third impeachment is even possible, but not whether it would lead to removal. For more on the stakes, see Trump and the 2026 midterms.

Impeachment vs. the 25th Amendment

These two are often mentioned together but work very differently. Impeachment is for alleged misconduct and runs through Congress. The 25th Amendment concerns a president's inability to do the job and is triggered by the vice president and Cabinet, not by a congressional vote. Neither has ever been used to permanently remove a sitting president.

What this means for Trump's term

Regardless of how any impeachment effort plays out, it does not change the scheduled end of Trump's term. Under the 20th Amendment, his second term ends at noon on January 20, 2029 — a date fixed by the Constitution. You can see the exact time remaining on our live countdown.