The framers borrowed impeachment from English practice, where Parliament used it against royal ministers, but adapted it for a republic. They wanted a way to remove officials who abused their power without making the President a servant of Congress, so they divided the job: the House brings the charges, and the Senate, sitting as a court, decides. Alexander Hamilton described impeachable offenses in Federalist No. 65 as those that proceed from the abuse or violation of some public trust.
This guide walks through each step, explains who can be impeached and for what, reviews the cases in history, and compares impeachment with the other ways officials can be removed or checked.
Article I gives the House the sole power of impeachment and the Senate the sole power to try impeachments, and Article II lists the grounds: treason, bribery, or other high crimes and misdemeanors. The phrase is not defined in the Constitution, and Congress decides for itself what it covers. Most scholars read it to include serious abuses of power, not only crimes, while others argue for a narrower reading. Impeachment is political rather than criminal, and courts have held they cannot review how the Senate conducts a trial.
The Constitution covers the President, the Vice President, and all civil officers of the United States. In practice, that has meant mostly federal judges, who serve for life and can be removed only this way, along with cabinet members and Presidents. Members of Congress are not considered civil officers after the Senate dismissed charges against Senator William Blount in 1799, so each chamber disciplines its own members through censure or expulsion. Military officers are handled through the military justice system.
Any member can introduce a resolution of impeachment, but serious efforts usually begin with an investigation, by the Judiciary Committee or other committees, using hearings and subpoenas. The committee drafts articles of impeachment, each a separate charge, and the full House votes on each one. A simple majority impeaches. The House then names members as managers to present the case to the Senate. Many impeachment resolutions are referred to committee or tabled without a vote on the merits.
The Twenty-fifth Amendment lets the Vice President and a majority of the Cabinet declare a President unable to serve, a provision never used against a President's will. Presidents can fire most executive officers, though not federal judges. Section 3 of the Fourteenth Amendment bars certain officials who engaged in insurrection from office, though in 2024 the Supreme Court held that Congress must enforce it for federal candidates. Supporters of frequent impeachment say it is the essential check on abuse of power, while critics warn that partisan use weakens it.
Senators take a special oath to do impartial justice and sit as jurors under rules the Senate sets for itself, including whether to call witnesses. The Chief Justice presides when the President is on trial, and the Vice President or a senator presides otherwise. Conviction on any article requires two thirds of senators present, and it removes the official at once. The Senate may then vote by simple majority to disqualify the person from future federal office, which it has done three times, all for judges.
Andrew Johnson was impeached in 1868 for defying the Tenure of Office Act and was acquitted by one vote. Richard Nixon resigned in 1974 after the House Judiciary Committee approved articles against him and the Supreme Court ordered him to release the White House tapes. Bill Clinton was impeached in 1998 on charges arising from an independent counsel investigation and was acquitted in 1999. A President was impeached in 2019 and again in 2021 and acquitted both times. Of fifteen federal judges impeached, eight were convicted, most recently in 2010, and in 2024 the House impeached a cabinet secretary for the first time since 1876.
See how the branches check one another in checks and balances in action, learn how Congress gathers evidence in how Congress investigates, or read about another way a President can be replaced in the 25th Amendment explained.