Who has the authority to impeach the President of the United States?

The authority to impeach the President of the United States rests with the House of Representatives. This process is outlined in the U.S. Constitution, specifically in Article I, Section 2, which grants the House the sole power of impeachment. Impeachment is the formal charge of misconduct against a sitting president, and it requires a simple majority vote in the House to initiate the process.

Once the House of Representatives has impeached the President, the case then moves to the Senate, which conducts a trial to determine whether to convict and remove the President from office. This distinction between the roles of the two chambers of Congress is crucial to understanding the impeachment process. Unlike the House, the Senate has the authority to try the impeachment and ultimately decide the outcome, which may lead to removal from office.

The involvement of the Supreme Court and the Vice President is not part of the impeachment process itself, as the Supreme Court's role is primarily judicial and does not include participating in the impeachment procedures, while the Vice President's role is more ceremonial unless they assume the Presidency following an impeachment. Thus, the responsibility for initiating impeachment lies solely with the House of Representatives.