Impeachment proceedings against President Donald Trump were launched on Sept 24 after the White House did not release a formal whistleblower complaint to Congress. The complaint details an attempt by President Trump to pressure the president of Ukraine to investigate former Vice President Joseph R. Biden and his son Hunter Biden. Biden is a Democratic candidate in the ongoing presidential primary. The whistleblower claims that President Trump’s pressure on Ukraine was politically motivated to benefit his reelection.
Impeachment is a constitutional process where both the House and the Senate investigate a president for treason, bribery or high crimes and misdemeanors. The House votes to impeach, and the Senate then holds a trial. To push the process to the Senate, the House needs 51 percent of representatives to support the motion.
As of the most recent count by the New York Times, 52 percent of representatives publicly support impeachment. 93 percent of Republicans have either come out to say that they do not think impeachment should happen now, or that they are undecided. A vast majority of Democrats in the House support impeachment along with the single Independent, Justin Amash of Michigan. No Republican has come out publicly supporting impeachment.
