Published 15:15 IST, December 19th 2019
As Donald Trump got impeached, who is currently the President of US?
US President Donald Trump became the third president in the nation’s history to get impeached which led to rumours that Trump does not hold the top post anymore
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US President Donald Trump became the third president in the nation’s history to get impeached which led to rumours that Trump does not hold the top post anymore. But the fact is, Trump remains the president of the United States as Senate is still to vote in the favour of his removal.
The high-profile controversy started when Democrats accused Trump of pressurising Ukranian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy to investigate Joe Biden, a Democrat and Trump’s potential challenger for 2020 presidential elections. House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi announced the launch of the impeachment inquiry against Trump which led to hearings and depositions of witnesses.
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House Judiciary Committee oversaw the impeachment process and received all the findings of House-wise investigation. After the investigation, the House Judiciary Committee approved two charges against President Trump and referred to the full house for voting. He was impeached by the Democrats-controlled House of Representatives on two separate charges of abuse of power and obstruction to Congress.
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The House voted in favour of the first impeachment article, alleging misuse of power, 230 to 197. The second article, accusing Trump of obstructing Congress, was voted by the house in favour 299 to 198. Since the majority of members of House of Representatives voted in favour of impeachment, Trump stands impeached but the proceedings will now move to Senate.
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Trial in Senate
The Senate, controlled by Republicans, will now hold a trial under the supervision of Chief Justice of the Supreme Court. In the trial, Senate will serve as the jury and at least two-thirds of the Senate have to vote in favour of removal. In the history of the United States, only two presidents, Andrew Johnson in 1868 and Bill Clinton in 1998, have been impeached so far but both got acquitted in the Senate. In 1974, the then President Richard Nixon had faced impeachment proceedings but resigned from the office before any voting could take place.
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15:04 IST, December 19th 2019