Impeachment in the United States is a formal process in which an official is accused of unlawful activity, possibly leading to their removal from office. It is primarily used to charge high officials, including the president, vice president, and other federal officials (such as judges) who may have committed “Treason, Bribery, or other high Crimes and Misdemeanors” as outlined in Article II, Section 4 of the U.S. Constitution.

The process begins in the House of Representatives where any member can propose a resolution to impeach or the Judiciary Committee can initiate an investigation into accusations against a federal official. If evidence is sufficient, the House Judiciary Committee will draft articles of impeachment and present them to the full House. It requires a simple majority to pass each article. If this happens, the accused is officially impeached.

Next, the process moves to the Senate for a trial. The Senate acts as the jury, and the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court presides over the trial of a president (for other officials, the Vice President or the President pro tempore of the Senate presides). During the trial, witnesses can be called and evidence is presented. At the end of the trial, the Senate votes on each article of impeachment. A two-thirds majority is required to convict on any article. If convicted, the official is removed from office and may be barred from holding any public office in the future. However, this does not prevent the official from being subject to criminal prosecution for their actions. The impeachment process historically is a rare event reflecting its severity and the high standard of evidence and bipartisan support generally necessary to carry it to completion.

So, basically, impeachment is like the government’s version of firing someone but way more intense. Imagine if your boss needed like half of your company to agree just to tell you, ‘Hey, we think you’re doing a terrible job,’ and then the other half has to act like the jury at your trial—if enough of them agree, only then you’re outta there. And this isn’t for stealing pens or coming late to work—it’s for real serious offenses. I remember when they were all talking about impeaching Trump—it was all over the news, and man, people had opinions. Some were screaming for it to happen ASAP and others were like it’s all just a political game. It’s gotta be massive stuff, though, like betraying your country (that’s treason, by the way), bribery, or other big crimes. Overall, it’s rare and a big deal, especially for high-ranking people like the president.