Thandie Brown
Online Editor
History was made in December 2019 when President Donald J. Trump was impeached.
As the first-ever, first-term president to earn the title, Trump’s Twitter account lists history that contains boasts of opposition about Nancy Pelosi, House Speaker, as well as retweets about a continual stay in the White House.
The ground of these claims is not far-fetched because impeachment does not mean removal from office.
The New York Times posted an interactive article on the process of impeachment, which includes an oversite of two of the three previous presidential impeachment trials.
As of now, the House has voted to impeach number 45 under two articles: Abuse of power and obstruction of Congress, but just because the House has passed this ruling does not mean the Senate has to agree.
A quick review of civics will remind the public that the House of Representatives, according to house.gov/the-house, explains, “the U.S. House of Representatives makes and passes federal laws.”
The Senate, on the other hand, is a complex form that essentially delegates the decisions made by that of the House and the President.
Just for the impeachment, senate.gov says, “Under the Constitution, the House of Representatives has the power to impeach a government official, in effect serving as prosecutor. The Senate has the sole power to conduct impeachment trials, essentially serving as jury and judge. Since 1789 the Senate has tried 19 federal officials, including two presidents.”
So, what does this mean for us? This means the process continues in 2020.
Judgment is pending for prosecution from the Senate concerning our current president.
As of January 7, 2020, The Washington headlines a live update of the ordeal with this statement, “Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) said Tuesday that Republicans have enough votes to proceed with President Trump’s impeachment trial with no agreement with Democrats on witnesses.”
The cost of this against taxpaying money has yet to be estimated, according to Politico.
In the meantime, the public must watch the process of the current impeachment while debating their next presidential candidate for the upcoming 2020 election.
Things to consider in this time include actions of war, economic substance, international relations, civic engagement and overall satisfaction of what Trump has accomplished while in office.
As of January 22, 2020, McConnell, after a 13-hour hearing on the Senate floor, has an approved set of impeachment questions that will be addressed on the floor.
On the same day, opening statements from the Senate unto Trump’s legal team are beginning.
CNN politics has a live-update article that tells of the current status within the Senate trial as well as the procedures that should follow.
At this time, there is a 12:3 ratio of candidates running for the upcoming presidency. Including Trump, there are 12 Democrats and 3 Republicans, according to the New York Times interactive presidential candidates article.
As history continues to write itself, the witness of the new decade is a whirlwind of morals, ideals and for the American public, their next president.
browt175@mail.broward.edu
