Articles of impeachment filed against Trump. Why it's a longshot

• A Democratic lawmaker has filed articles of impeachment against President Donald Trump.
• The resolution faces low odds of success in the Republican-controlled Congress.
• President Trump was impeached twice in his first term by the House but was acquitted both times by the Senate.

A Democratic lawmaker filed articles of impeachment on April 6 against President Donald Trump, though it faces unlikely odds of succeeding in a Republican-controlled Congress.

The impeachment resolution from Rep. John Larson, D-Connecticut, included 13 articles alleging Trump committed high crimes and misdemeanors for his conduct across a range of policy initiatives. It includes his actions taken in Iran, Venezuela and Gaza; his use of the National Guard in American cities; and his use of the presidential pardon power, among others.

"Donald Trump has blown past every requirement to be removed from office. And it's getting worse. His illegal war in Iran is not only driving up prices for American families — it has cost American lives,” Larson said in a statement. “He's becoming more unstable by the day. His profane and sacrilegious Easter Sunday and subsequent threats, including ‘a whole civilization will die’ and ‘open the Strait…or you’ll be living in hell’ not only foreshadow war crimes, but put our security at risk."

Larson is not the first lawmaker to introduce resolutions to impeach Trump since he returned to office. But the efforts have not been backed by all Democrats and were unlikely to pass the Republican-led House, let alone receive a two-thirds majority from a Republican-controlled Senate needed to convict and remove him from office.

White House spokesperson Davis Ingle called it "pathetic."

"Democrats have been talking about impeaching President Trump since before he was even sworn into office. The Democrats in Congress are deranged, weak, and ineffective, which is why their approval ratings are at historic lows," Ingle said.

Trump's threats against Iran in recent days, including a post saying "a whole civilization will die," have prompted calls for him to be removed from office by invoking the 25th Amendment, but that would require his Cabinet and the vice president to move against him. Here is what to know.

An impeachment does not necessarily lead to removal

An impeachment is akin to an indictment; it approves formal charges against a federal officeholder who has been accused of committing a crime.

The articles (charges) of impeachment must be adopted by a simple majority vote in the House before the Senate holds an impeachment trial. When a president is on trial, the Supreme Court chief justice presides.

If the Senate votes by a two-thirds majority to convict, only then can the accused be removed from office. Sometimes, that also means they can never hold office again.

How many times has Trump been impeached?

Trump has been impeached twice, but the Senate acquitted him both times.

In December 2019, the House voted to impeach Trump on two articles, one charging him with abuse of power by asking Ukrainian officials to investigate his political opponent and another that he obstructed the congressional investigation into the matter. In February 2020, the Senate voted to acquit the president, and Sen. Mitt Romney, R-Utah, was the only Republican to cross party lines in voting to convict.

In January 2021, the House voted to impeach Trump again, charging the president with "incitement to insurrection" related to the events at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. Ten Republicans broke ranks and voted with Democrats to impeach Trump. Only two of those 10 lawmakers are still in office, and one of them has said he will not seek re-election in 2026. The others retired from Congress or lost their races.

The Senate trial occurred after Trump left office, and some Republicans found it unnecessary since he was no longer in power. A majority voted to convict, with seven Republicans crossing party lines, but the 57-43 vote fell short of the two-thirds majority needed for a conviction. Because he was acquitted, there was no vote to bar him from holding office again.

What other presidents have been impeached?

Three presidents have been impeached, but all were acquitted after the Senate trial. They were:

• Andrew Johnson in 1868
• Bill Clinton in 1998
• Trump in 2019 and 2021

Contributing: Jeanine Santucci, Sudiksha Kochi, Michael Collins, George Petras, John Fritze, USA TODAY

Kinsey Crowley is the Trump Connect reporter for the USA TODAY Network. Reach her at [email protected]. Follow her onX (Twitter),Threads,Bluesky andTikTok.