Impeachment: What The Hell Is Going On?!

Impeachment: What The Hell Is Going On

Unless you’ve been living under a rock for the past month, chances are you’ve heard the news. Every single news station has it plastered all over the TV screen: “The 45th President, Donald Trump, has been impeached”. If you’re over the age of 30 you’ve probably been getting your information from Facebook. If you’re under the age of 30 (like me) you’ve probably gotten almost all of your information through Twitter. The media is saturated and things can get confusing so here’s your guide to understanding what the hell is going on with the impeachment of Donald J. Trump (from the perspective of a 21 year old devout liberal of course!).

On December 18, 2019 the United States House of Representatives voted on two articles of impeachment. Article I: Abuse of Power. According to Democrats, Trump abused presidential powers by soliciting a foreign government to investigate his political opponent in the 2020 U.S. election.

He solicited Ukraine to announce investigations into a 2020 opponent (Joe Biden).

He pressured Ukraine to announce investigation by withholding a meeting and military aid.

He compromised U.S. national security in using the powers of the presidency for his personal political benefit.

According to the article “President Trump… has demonstrated that he will remain a threat to national security and the Constitution if allowed to remain in office.” On Article I the House voted: 230-for, 197-against, and 1 present (Tulsi Gabbard).

Article II: Obstruction of Congress. Democrats say, Trump obstructed Congressional attempts to investigate him and denied the House its Power of Impeachment.

He directed the White House and the Departments of State, Energy, and Defense to defy suboneas and withhold documents.

He directed Admin officials, including his Chief of Staff, not to cooperate with Committees.

His stonewalling of Congressional subpoenas and requests is a violation of the Constitution.

The article says: “President Trump... has acted in a manner grossly incompatible with self-governance and the rule of law.” In Article II the House voted: 229-for, 198-against, and 1 present (also Tulsi Gabbard).

So what’s next?

Donald J. Trump, the 45th president of the United States of America has officially been impeached. Along with Andrew Johnson and Bill Clinton, Donald Trump is only the third U.S. president to be impeached. This is where the general public seems to get confused. Yes, Donald Trump is still the President of the United States. If you’re over the age of 30 you may remember Clinton’s impeachment trial, I however was barely two months old. The House, then majority Republican, impeached President Clinton for lying about his affair with Monica Lewinsky under oath. After being impeached it was then up to the Senate (who was majority Democrat) to choose if they wanted to impeach him from office or not. Spoiler Alert: They voted not to.

Well, the exact opposite is currently happening with President Donald Trump. The majority Democrat House voted to impeach Trump, now it is up to the majority Republican Senate to choose to remove him from office or not. With the Senate Majority Leader, Mitch McConnell (and other republican senators) already stating they plan on not voting to remove the president from office, its safe to say how this is going to go. President Donald J. Trump will likely not be removed from office but will go down in history as the third ever United States President to be impeached.

What can you do?

I’m glad you asked! Luckily this guy’s four years are almost up. He’s running for re-election in 2020 and now the power is in our hands to vote this guy out! You can share this blog so others can also be informed, help people get registered to vote, and the most important: go to the polls on Tuesday November 3, 2020 and VOTE! Because like Michelle Obama once said, “It’s more important now than ever that we vote, not just this year, every year and every election. Every voice must be heard and every vote must be counted.”