impeachment
Is a Senate trial required after the House impeaches a president?
<p>If the House of Representatives impeaches a president, everything I read says that there is then a trial by the Senate regarding removal from office. If the House impeaches a president, is it legally necessary to go forward with a Senate trial or is it an option for the House?</p>

<p>Article I, Section 3, Clause 6 says </p>

<blockquote>
  <p>The Senate shall have the sole Power to try all 
   Impeachments. When the President of the United States is tried, the
   Chief Justice shall preside: And no Person shall be convicted without
   the Concurrence of two-thirds of the Members present.</p>
</blockquote>

<p>Therefore, the House cannot try an impeachment.</p>

<p>The wording of the Constitution does not say "The Senate must try any impeachment delivered by the House". The option to reject an impeachment by simple majority runs completely counter to Senate tradition. But analogous to deployment of the "nuclear option" to change Senate rules, it is a conceivable outcome. The first impeachment presented to the Senate was against a <a href="https://www.senate.gov/artandhistory/history/common/expulsion_cases/Blount_expulsion.htm" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Senator, William Blount</a> in 1797, and in that instance the Senate appears to have voted that Blount was not an impeachable officer (so they did not vote on impeachment, but they did vote to expel him). In <a href="https://casetext.com/case/nixon-v-united-states-4" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Nixon v. US</a>, SCOTUS ruled that Senate impeachment actions are not justiciable. While current Senate rules require a trial, the rules can be changed by the Senate by a majority vote, and SCOTUS will not review such actions.</p>

<p>The Senate can also adjourn and not take up one or more articles, as happened in <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Impeachment_of_Andrew_Johnson" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Andrew Johnson's case</a>.</p>

<p>The other answers are correct to say that the trial takes place in the Senate and that the constitution does not say that the Senate must take the issue up. It simply says the Senate shall try all impeachments. </p>

<blockquote>
  <p>The Senate shall have the sole Power to try all Impeachments. When the President of the United States is tried, the Chief Justice shall preside: And no Person shall be convicted without the Concurrence of two-thirds of the Members present.</p>
</blockquote>

<p>Senate rules indicate that the Senate should take up the matter. </p>

<blockquote>
  <p>III.  Upon  such  articles  being  presented  to  the  Senate, the Senate shall, at 1 o’clock afternoon of the day (Sunday excepted)  following  such  presentation,  or  sooner  if  ordered by the Senate, proceed to the consideration of such articles and  shall  continue  in  session  from  day  to  day  (Sundays excepted)  after  the  trial  shall  commence  (unless  otherwise ordered  by  the  Senate)  until  final  judgment  shall  be  rendered,  and  so  much  longer  as  may,  in  its  judgment,  be needful.</p>
</blockquote>

<p><a href="https://www.law.cornell.edu/background/impeach/senaterules.pdf" rel="nofollow noreferrer">https://www.law.cornell.edu/background/impeach/senaterules.pdf</a> </p>

<p>Sometimes Senate rules are ignored, but the intent of the rules is clearly that a trial should be held. There may not be an official trial, but under the rules, the decisions of the house must at least be considered by the Senate.</p>

<p><a href="https://www.lawfareblog.com/can-senate-decline-try-impeachment-case" rel="nofollow noreferrer">https://www.lawfareblog.com/can-senate-decline-try-impeachment-case</a></p>

<p>Note: Answering the question made in the comments.</p>

<p>A trial by the Senate is constitutionally required; the House initiates the process of removal, and the Senate then conducts a trial and votes as to whether to remove the President (or a federal judge for that matter) from office.  </p>

<p>This is by design; The House is weighted by population, while the Senate has equal representation by State. Both Houses of Congress are required to act in concert for Congress to exercise its unappealable impeachment power against the other branches of government. (For impeaching within the Legislative Branch, each House has sole jurisdiction over itself; i.e. the House of Representatives governs the House of Representatives, and the Senate governs the Senate).</p>
