When the House of Representatives impeaches the president, bicameralism serves as a check through the involvement of both chambers of Congress in the impeachment process. Specifically:
- The House of Representatives has the sole power to impeach, meaning it can bring formal charges against the president by a simple majority vote on articles of impeachment
- After the House impeaches the president, the process moves to the Senate, which has the sole power to try the impeachment. The Senate conducts a trial, hears evidence, and then votes on whether to convict and remove the president from office
- Conviction and removal require a two-thirds supermajority vote in the Senate, which acts as a significant check on the House's impeachment decision. This high threshold ensures that removal is not based on a simple majority but requires broad consensus
Thus, bicameralism is used as a check on the impeachment vote because the House can impeach by a simple majority, but the Senate must confirm removal by a two-thirds vote, preventing unilateral action by one chamber alone. In summary, the scenario representing bicameralism as a check on impeachment is:
- The House impeaches the president by majority vote.
- The Senate then holds a trial and must approve removal by a two-thirds vote.
This division of power between the two chambers ensures a balanced and deliberate process for removing a president from office
