Since the beginning of President Donald Trump’s rise to power, there has been talk about  impeachment; however, until now it was just chatter. 

Understanding how impeachment works is important to digest the current news brought to light about President Trump. The process of impeachment can be broken down into three steps: First, Congress investigates the president; second, the House of Representatives must vote to begin impeachment proceedings; and third, the Senate tries the accused person and votes to decide their fate. Removal from office occurs if the Senate passes with a two-thirds majority vote in favor of removal. 

In United States’ history, only two other presidents have been impeached: Andrew Johnson for violating the Tenure of Office Law and Bill Clinton for committing perjury; however, neither were removed from office. Additionally, Richard Nixon was not impeached as he resigned from office before impeachment trials were initiated.

Unlike Johnson and Clinton, President Trump’s recent accusations include our national security. The Democratic and Republican parties are beginning to announce their candidates for the presidency, and President Trump and former Vice President Joe Biden seem to be the front runners. Hunter Biden, Joe Biden’s son, served on a company’s board in Ukraine, and President Trump believes that Hunter Biden conned other countries for large sums of money. The United States provides military aid to Ukraine along with other countries in Eastern Europe to help maintain sovereignty in the face of Russian aggression. President Trump’s interest in Hunter Biden’s business could stem from his desire to gain political advantage over Joe Biden in the 2020 election.

The Judiciary Committee and the Intelligence Committee in the House of Representatives are interviewing witnesses to determine whether President Trump asked for a quid-pro-quo in a call with President Zelensky from Ukraine on July 25. Congress approved almost $400 million in military aid for Ukraine, but the White House froze this aid. Taken from the transcript of the call, President Trump asks for “a favor” from President Zelensky, a potential investigation into Hunter Biden. By withholding funds and pursuing a “contribution or donation of money or other thing of value,” President Trump allegedly broke the Federal Election Law.

Nancy Pelosi, Speaker of the United States House of Representatives, began impeachment proceedings against President Trump. 

On Oct. 31, the House of Representatives voted on a resolution laying out a process to move impeachment from closed-door depositions to open hearings, according to The Guardian’s timeline of the impeachment process. 

At this point, it appears very likely that the Democratic-controlled House of Representatives will vote to begin impeachment proceedings for President Trump. But, the Republican-controlled Senate will most likely not have a majority vote for President Trump to be officially impeached.

Our government’s stability stems from our founding father’s ingenuity when creating our constitution. Based on a system that emphasizes consequences and checks and balances, we have been able to maintain our core values and foundation for the past 200 years. 

A president is not only supposed to represent him or herself but also the entire country. If we want to maintain the longevity of our nation, shouldn’t we all abide by our constitution and federal laws?