By Anvi Joshi (‘21) and Esha Peer (‘21)
Since the dawn of the 2016 election, Americans have been watching the news with bated breath for one specific name: Donald J. Trump. From his first step onto the political scene to his ascension to President of the United States, President Trump has kept people on their toes. However, with the Mueller investigation coming to a close, it seems someone may be able to finally put America’s heels on the ground.
The possibility of President Trump’s impeachment began the year he was sworn into office. An investigation into the possible collusion between the Russian government and the Trump campaign began in June of 2016. Special counsel Robert Mueller was appointed to the case on May 17, 2017 and has slowly begun uncovering possible evidence for impeachment.
To some, now that it has been three years, the investigation has lost its significance.
“It’s possible but it’s unlikely [that Trump be impeached] unless Mueller comes up with something big which doesn’t seem like it will happen since it’s been going on for [more than] a year, ” said sophomore Dennis Tsarkov.
Plus, impeaching a president is more complex than it seems. First, in order to be impeached, the president must act directly against the constitution for treason, bribery, or any other misdemeanors, meaning crimes during his or her time in office. Acting in an unprofessional manner, for example, does not constitute grounds for impeachment.
According to the House of Representatives archive, “The Constitution gives the House of Representatives the sole power to impeach an official, and it makes the Senate the sole court for impeachment trials.”
Due to this rule, only two presidents in the history of the United States have been impeached by the House: President Bill Clinton and President Andrew Jackson. However, these actions were stopped in the Senate, and neither Clinton nor Jackson were convicted and removed from office.
“I think it’s possible [President Trump] gets impeached. It’s very unlikely he gets removed from office. It would have to be indisputable proof that he did something ridiculous to get removed from office,” said U.S. Government and Politics teacher, Mr. Scott Wissocki.
President Trump’s impeachment for these reasons did not seem a possibility for the first half of his term. Not only did he act in accords to the Constitution, but Republicans held the majority in Congress.
“He’s got the highest approval rating within the Republican Party of any Republican president in the history of the country,” said Mr. Wissocki.
Now, the midterms have allowed the Democrats to take over in the House of Representatives and Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation has begun to question people closer and closer to the President.
According to FiveThirtyEight, a statistics website, Trump’s approval rating nationally is also 40.0% as of February 6, 2019. This is significantly lower compared to his approval rating at the start of his term, 45.5%.
Sophomore Kirthana Krishnamurthy said, “I think [Trump’s impeachment is] possible… I don’t think his conduct is okay for a president. I also feel like he doesn’t represent conservative views.”
Many share this opinion, but the true reason for impeachment seems pretty clear. If evidence is found by the Mueller investigation, it could be proven that President Trump worked with Russia to manipulate the results of the election.
With only two more years of Trump’s first term left, Democrats are looking for more evidence for Trump’s impeachment. The chances of the president getting taken out of office are low, but some still believe impeachment is the solution to ending an incredibly conservative administration. The only issue? The next in line for the presidency may not be who Democrats have dreamed of saving the White House…