President Donald Trump started this year of midterm elections by warning the Republican Party leaders.
On January 6, Trump told Republican lawmakers in the House of Representatives, "You have to win the midterm elections. If we don't win the midterm elections, they will find some excuse to remove me from office through impeachment."
Now the Republican Party has lost the midterm elections. The Democrats took control of Congress. Even Senate seats were won in traditionally Republican strongholds like Texas, South Carolina and Kansas.
Although, even before this, the Congress controlled by the Democratic Party had impeached Trump, but even then he could not be stopped from continuing on the post of President.
Before the elections, there were 53 members in the Senate with the Republican Party, while there were 47 senators in favor of the Democrats.
The results of 367 out of total 435 seats of the House of Representatives have been declared.
Democrats have won 218 of these seats, ensuring their majority in the House. Before the election, the Republican Party had a majority by a very narrow margin of 218-214.
After gaining majority in the House of Representatives, Democrats will get the right to initiate impeachment proceedings against members of the Trump administration, including President Donald Trump.
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During his first term, Trump had to face two impeachment proposals brought by Democratic lawmakers of the House of Representatives. However, both times he was acquitted of the charges in the Senate.
But merely impeachment will not remove Trump from the presidency. For this, he will have to be found guilty in the next hearing to be held in the Senate, for which the support of two-thirds of the senators present is necessary. This means that Democrats cannot remove Trump from office merely by gaining majority in the Senate.
At present, there is no indication that Democratic Party leaders plan to bring impeachment against Trump for the third time.
Winning a majority in both houses of Congress would also give Democrats broad control over Trump's legislative agenda and enough oversight powers to scrutinize the functioning of the executive.
This may make it difficult for the Trump administration to push forward new laws and policies in the last two years of its tenure. However, Trump has already warned that if the Democrats gain control of Congress, he will veto every bill.
Impact of midterm election results
Have the midterm election results opened the way for another impeachment against Trump? Know important things related to this.
First of all, it is important to understand that the majority required in the Senate to convict and remove a President is much greater than the majority required in the House of Representatives to impeach him.
Impeachment is like an indictment. Under this, allegations of crime against a federal official are formally approved.
Impeachment motions i.e. the charges must be passed by a simple majority in the House of Representatives before the hearing can begin in the Senate.
When an impeachment hearing is held against a President, the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court presides over it.
If a two-thirds majority in the Senate votes in favor of convicting the President, only then can he be removed from office. In some cases, it also means that the person concerned can never hold any government post in the future.
Have Democrats won enough seats to impeach Trump?
The answer in the House of Representatives is yes.
By the afternoon of November 4, the Democrats had won 237 seats, which is more than the 218 seats required for a simple majority. This means that if all Democrat lawmakers vote in support of the impeachment motion, it can be passed.
But this is just the first step in impeachment. It is also important to understand whether a sufficient majority can be obtained in the Senate, so that the President can be convicted and removed from office.
During the impeachment hearing in the Senate, the support of two-thirds of the members is required to convict a person.
The results of all seats have not been declared yet. But even if the Democrats win all the seats where results are yet to be declared, they will still fall short of the required figure of 67 votes. This assessment is based on the assumption that all senators will vote in favor of their respective parties.
Will Democrats try to impeach Trump?
Hakeem Jeffries, leader of the Democratic Party in the House of Representatives, has said that his party's focus will be on reducing inflation and the cost of living for the common people.
Jeffries, an MP from New York, could become the next speaker of the House of Representatives when the new Congress takes office in January.
On November 4, he said, "No member of the House Democratic Caucus has talked to me about impeachment."
He said that the party's focus will be on reducing the cost of living for the common people as well as fixing accountability.
"House Democrats will lead a Congress that will keep an eye on an out-of-control executive and ensure the balance of power," he said.
As it became clear that the Democrats would again regain the majority in the House of Representatives, Congressman Robert Garcia, the top Democratic member of the House Oversight Committee, promised to launch an investigation.
Posting on social media platform X, he wrote, "Keep your lawyers ready."
Getting the majority means that the Democrats will have the powers to issue summons and take contempt action. Through this, they can seek answers from the Trump administration and his family on various issues.
It is not only Trump who faces the possibility of facing impeachment. A motion for impeachment was also introduced against Defense Minister Pete Hegseth before Parliament went into recess for midterm elections.
How many times has Trump been impeached so far?
Trump has been impeached twice so far, but both times the Senate acquitted him of the charges.
In December 2019, the House of Representatives approved two impeachment charges against Trump.
The first charge was of abuse of power. It was said that Trump had asked Ukrainian officials to investigate his political rival.
The second charge was of obstructing the Congress investigation. Trump was accused of obstructing the investigation of this case.
In February 2020, the Senate acquitted the President of the charges. Republican Senator Mitt Romney from Utah was the only Republican lawmaker to cross his party line and vote in favor of convicting Trump.
In January 2021, the House of Representatives once again voted in favor of impeachment against Trump. This time he was accused of "incitement of insurrection" in connection with the events that took place at the US Capitol on January 6, 2021.
During this time, 10 Republican MPs left their party and voted with the Democrats in support of impeachment against Trump.
Out of these 10 MPs, now only two remain in office. One of them has said that he will not contest elections again in 2026. The remaining MPs either retired from Congress or lost their elections.
The impeachment hearing in the Senate took place after Trump left the presidency. Some Republican lawmakers believed that since Trump is no longer in power, there is no need for a hearing against him.
