Confused By The Impeachment Process? This Flowchart Should Help.

The impeachment process visualized.

Congratulations America: Many of you are about to witness your first impeachment proceedings! For those of you just reaching the legal drinking age, you weren’t even alive the last time the House of Representatives voted to impeach a sitting president. Others had some formative takeaways. Those of us who were (for example) graduating high school may have a fuzzy memory at best of how the process works.

This diagram will help you better understand where we are in the process, and how it might go down.

Impeachment inquiry is announced.

House committees (Intelligence, Oversight,

Financial Services, Foreign Affairs,

Ways and Means, and Judiciary) submit evidence

of impeachable offenses to Judiciary Committee.

Not enough evidence.

If there is sufficient evidence

of wrongdoing, Judiciary

sends articles of

impeachment to the

full House.

Nothing changes.

Trump thinks long and

hard about what he did.

House holds a floor vote on

articles of impeachment.

Simple majority does not

vote for impeachment.

Simple majority votes

to impeach.

Trump is impeached

by the House; he tweets.

Nothing changes.

Trump thinks long and

hard about what he did.

“PRESIDENTIAL HARASSMENT!”

Articles of impeachment

move to the

Republican-controlled Senate.

House elects

or appoints

“managers”

to present case

to Senate.

Senate takes up

impeachment proceedings.

McConnell

Happens!

Per GOP Senate Leadership Aide,

the Senate could hold a majority vote to

dismiss the articles of impeachment.

Simple majority

votes to dismiss.

No majority

to dismiss.

Senate determines rules for

trial proceedings, and holds a trial.

Senate Trial Time!

Senate

“the jury”

Chief Justice of US

“the judge”

Trial Managers

“the prosecution”

Trump’s Lawyers

“the defense”

Less than 2/3 of the

Senate votes to convict.

At least 2/3 of the Senate

votes to convict.

We Are

Here

Trump remains

in office.

Trump is removed

from office.

Welcome,

President Pence!

Image credits: Melina Mara / the Washington Post via Getty Images (Pelosi); Drew Angerer / Getty Images (Trump); Mandel Ngan / AFP / Getty Images (McConnell); Stephanie Keith / Getty Images (Trump); Caroline Brehman / CQ-Roll Call, Inc. via Getty Images (Pence)

UPDATE

The flowchart was updated to include the possibility of a Senate vote to dismiss articles of impeachment.


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