Senate acquits President Trump on articles of impeachment

The Senate voted on Wednesday against two articles of impeachment presented by the House against President Donald J. Trump. A two-thirds majority vote in favor of the articles was needed to convict the President.

On Article I, the vote went 48-52 in favor of conviction; on Article II, the vote went 47-53 in favor of conviction.

On January 16, 2020, the House of Representatives formally delivered two articles of impeachment against President Trump to the Senate, charging President Trump with abuse of power—failing to faithfully execute the obligations of his office according to his oath—and obstruction of Congress. They had been approved by the House on December 18, 2019. The proceedings in the Senate began on January 21, 2020.

The Chief Justice of the United States, John G. Roberts, Jr., presided over the Senate trial regarding the impeachment articles, under Article I, Section 3 of the Constitution.

Also under Article I, Section 3, the Senate had the sole power to conduct impeachment trials. Standing rules first adopted for President Andrew Johnson’s impeachment trial in 1868 (and updated several times since then) were used to conduct the current trial.

The 2020 impeachment proceedings were the third taken against a President in the Senate since the Constitution was ratified on June 21, 1788.

In May 1868, the Senate found President Andrew Johnson not guilty on three of the 11 articles of impeachment presented to it for consideration.

In February 1998, the Senate found President William J. Clinton not guilty on two articles of impeachment presented to it by the House.

In the Constitution

The House's Impeachment Powers

The Senate's Impeachment Trial Role

The Rules for Impeachment Proceedings

Scott Bomboy is the editor in chief of the National Constitution Center.