It seems that no matter where Donald Trump goes, drama follows him like a duckling follows its mother. Ever since he entered the political race last election, the whole world has been watching him extremely closely. There’s no shortage of horror stories with things he’s said, done or even tweeted. Since the beginning there has been people who want him out of office and have tried to make that happen. However, Trump has done great things with the U.S. economy. He has created over 4 million jobs and significantly lowered the unemployment rate. Some may say he is just piggybacking on Barrack Obama’s success with his economic turnaround, but there’s no question Trump is economically savvy and contributed in some way. The most recent headlines regarding Trump show a massive push to see his impeachment. This isn’t the first time this has been brought up, but this time does seem to have much stronger roots.
With the 2020 election just around the corner, candidates including Trump are preparing and trying to get a step up on their competition. A major Democratic candidate is former Vice President Joe Biden, who seems to be one of the front runners. Naturally, Trump wants to find something to help him against Biden in the election. However, this is where the newest push for impeachment begins.
On the other side of the Atlantic, the country of Ukraine is having some serious issues facing Russia which dates back to a 2013 protest against Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych. Yanukovych decided to reject a deal for greater economic integration with the European Union. After Yanukovych fled the country in 2014, Russian troops took control of Ukraine’s Crimean region. Later pro-Russian separatists in eastern Ukraine held a referendum to declare independence from Ukraine. “In July 2014, the situation in Ukraine escalated into an international crisis and put the United States and the European Union (EU) at odds with Russia when a Malaysian Airlines flight was shot down over Ukrainian airspace, killing all 298 on board.” (Council on Foreign relations). It was later determined that Russia was responsible for this incident. With United States troops and resources now in Ukraine and Eastern Europe, Trump and the United States are fully involved.
A Ukrainian gas company called Burisma Holdings was founded by an ally of the former Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych. Up until recently, Joe Biden’s son was associated with this company which brought up a lot of debate. “In April 2014, Biden’s son Hunter joined the board of Burisma Holdings. Hunter served on the board until early 2019. He joined the company about a month after Russia annexed Crimea, a cataclysmic moment that continues to put the US at odds with Russia and is linked to ongoing conflict in eastern Ukraine. Hunter has never been accused of wrongdoing regarding his work with Burisma.” (Business Insider).
With the 2020 election coming up soon, Trump wanted to find an edge on his competitor Joe Biden. The main allegation against Trump, is that he called the new Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskiy to find “dirt” on the former U.S. Vice President. Trump was also found to be withholding the White House meeting Zelenskiy coveted, as well as military aid that was already approved by Congress. So not only was he asking a foreign official to help him politically, Trump is basically accused of giving him an ultimatum.
For those pushing for the impeachment, it’s not as easy as getting a single majority vote. First, the speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives, Nancy Pelosi must announce a formal impeachment inquiry against the president. Pelosi has already announced this on September 24th. In addition, House Committee members must research and propose articles of impeachment against Trump to later be reviewed by the Senate. Pelosi has also stated that a House vote will likely take place later this week. Within the House of Representatives, a simple majority vote is all it takes to move along with the process. Currently, the House Judiciary Committee consists of 24 Democrats and 17 Republicans, so 21 votes would be necessary. At the moment it seems this vote will pass based on the number of Democrats in the council. If Trump is impeached by the House, the vote then moves to the U.S. Senate. This is where the process is more in favor of the Republican party and less likely to pass.
Currently, the Senate consists of 53 Republicans and 47 Democrats. In the Senate, for the impeachment to pass there needs to be two thirds vote in favor of the movement. This will be very tough to pass due to the majority of the Senate consisting of Republicans. If the Senate does not convict Trump, then he will be impeached yet not removed. There’s also the possibility where he would be forced to resign from Presidency just like Richard Nixon was in 1974.
There are still a lot of variables regarding Trump’s impeachment, and we won’t know how it will unfold until it actually does unfold. There’s no question however, that some people want him out and the future of his term or possible terms is uncertain. He has been a very entertaining president, and the end of his term has been just that.