Impeachment proceedings have previously occurred with three out of the United States’ 44 total sworn-in presidents. That number has officially been moved up to four presidents. President Donald Trump is undergoing impeachment proceedings as of Sept. 22 for alleged illegal discussion with Ukraine. Trump’s possible impeachment poses the question of whether this impeachment inquiry will result in Trump becoming the first president whose impeachment concluded with forced removal from office.

Historically, President Andrew Johnson, President Richard Nixon and President Bill Clinton have all been involved in impeachment proceedings, but none of them were forcefully removed from office. Johnson was one vote short of impeachment, Nixon chose to resign and Clinton had an even split of the senate and was therefore allowed to finish his term in office according to The History Place. 

There are eight steps in the impeachment process. First, the House of Representatives brings impeachment charges, then the Committee on the Judiciary decides if they want to pursue impeachment. Third, the House votes to impeach, then the House tells the Senate about their decision through a resolution. Fifth, the president is summoned, then the Senate holds an impeachment trial which is very much like a criminal trial. Seventh, the senators become jurors and the United States Chief Justice presides. Finally, the president is removed and the vice president becomes president, according to The Borgen Project. These are the eight steps that will be pursued for Trump’s impeachment. 

In previous impeachment proceedings, no one has completed all eight steps. That is usually because the Senate has to have a two-thirds vote to impeach which hasn’t yet happened. With the Senate being majority republican, for Trump’s impeachment proceedings to complete all eight steps is “difficult, if not impossible,” according to the Washington Post.

Impeachment proceedings were pursued in Trump’s case mainly because of the whistleblower’s complaint which is at the heart of all impeachment investigations. In Trump’s case, the whistleblower’s complaint is that Trump has and is allegedly abusing his power in office to find dirt on Joe Biden through Ukraine according to USA Today. This whistleblower’s identity is kept secret and protected by a policy issued by the Obama administration protecting whistleblowers. Thus far, Trump’s impeachment inquiry has begun as announced by the Speaker of the House, Nancy Pelosi, on Sept. 22. 

The reason that Trump conspiring with Ukraine to bring down Biden poses a real threat for various reasons. The first being that Trump conspiring with another country against a United States former Vice President could be seen as the President committing an act of treason against the very country he was sworn into defending. Another layer is that if Ukraine is digging up dirt on Biden for Trump, it is unacceptable that Trump is able to get that information without anyone else in the White House finding out. The impeachment proceedings bring up the most critical concern of whether the security of our country is being compromised by the White House to keep a single president in office.

The impeachment proceedings are possibly happening too late to even matter, but the impeachment process is a good and necessary process that the United States needs to go through. The impeachment process causes an immense amount of information to be dug up and revealed to the country’s citizens, which is exactly what happened in the Nixon investigation. This will expose corruption in the government and can be a catalyst for the citizens of the United States to demand change. While the impeachment proceedings may be coming too late, they are what is best for the good of the future of the United States.