How many senators are needed to impeach a government official?

Answer 1

The impeachment-trial procedure is in two steps. The House of Representatives must first pass "articles of impeachment" by a simple majority. (All fifty state legislatures as well as the District of Columbia city council may also pass articles of impeachment against their own executives.) The articles of impeachment constitute the formal allegations. Upon their passage, the defendant has been "impeached." Next, the Senate tries the accused. In the case of the impeachment of a President, the Chief Justice of the United States presides over the proceedings. Otherwise, the Vice President, in his capacity as President of the Senate, or the President pro tempore of the Senate presides. This may include the impeachment of the Vice President, although legal theories suggest that allowing a person to be the judge in the case where she or he was the defendant would be a blatant conflict of interest. If the Vice President did not preside over an impeachment (of someone other than the President), the duties would fall to the President Pro Tempore. In order to convict the accused, a two-thirds majority of the senators present is required. Conviction automatically removes the defendant from office. Following conviction, the Senate may vote to further punish the individual by barring them from holding future federal office (either elected or appointed). Despite a conviction by the Senate, the defendant remains liable to criminal prosecution. It is possible to impeach someone even after the accused has vacated their office in order to disqualify the person from future office or from certain emoluments of their prior office (such as a pension). If there is no charge for which a two-thirds majority of the senators present vote "Guilty", the defendant is acquitted and no punishment is imposed.

Answer 2

Impeachment requires a simple majority vote in the House of Representatives. The Senate is where the trial is conducted, with a 2/3 vote of the senators present required for a conviction. Although Presidents Andrew Johnson and Bill Clinton were impeached, neither was convicted.

Answer 3

Zero. The US Senate does not impeach government officials, the House of Representatives does. It takes a simple majority (ie more than 50%) of the representatives to vote in favor of the impeachment bill for it to pass. Right now (January 2015), that would be 218 of the 435 congressmen.

Once an official has been impeached, then the Senate conducts a trial to ascertain if the official is actually guilty of whatever crime(s) they have been impeached for. After the trial, the Senators vote like a jury; 2/3 of the Senators (which at this time would be 67) must vote in favor of conviction for the official to be found guilty.

The confusion probably arises from the term "impeachment". Impeachment is just like an indictment- it's the House of Representatives saying, in a formal manner, that they believe the person has committed a crime and that there needs to be a trial. If a person is impeached, the Senate then conducts the trial to prove it.

Answer 4

Two-thirds of those present

Answer 5

i think 2/5 or 3/5

Answer 6

Two thirds of the senate