The impeachment process is the constitutional check where the House of Representatives formally charges a federal official (including the president) with "high crimes and misdemeanors" by majority vote, and the Senate holds a trial requiring a two-thirds vote to convict and remove the official from office.
The impeachment process is the Constitution's built-in firing mechanism for federal officials who abuse their power. It happens in two stages, split between the chambers of Congress on purpose. First, the House of Representatives votes to impeach, which means it formally charges the official with "treason, bribery, or other high crimes and misdemeanors." A simple majority does it. Impeachment alone removes no one. It's the equivalent of an indictment, not a verdict.
The second stage is the Senate trial. Senators act as the jury, and when the president is on trial, the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court presides. Conviction requires a two-thirds vote, and only conviction removes the official from office. In the CED, this two-step design is the textbook illustration of how separation of powers and checks and balances "allow legal actions to be taken against public officials deemed to have abused their power" (AP Gov 1.6.B). The high bar for conviction is also why removal is rare. Andrew Johnson survived his Senate trial by a single vote.
Impeachment lives in Topic 1.6 (Principles of American Government) and threads through almost all of Unit 2. It directly supports AP Gov 1.6.A and 1.6.B, where the CED names impeachment and removal as the prime example of legal action against officials who abuse power. It also shows up as a congressional power in Topic 2.2, a check on the presidency in Topic 2.5, and a check on the judicial branch in Topic 2.11 (federal judges can be impeached too, not just presidents). Conceptually, it's the ultimate enforcement tool behind Madison's argument in Federalist No. 51 that the Constitution must control potential abuses of power. If you can explain why the Framers split impeachment between two chambers and set a two-thirds bar, you've basically explained checks and balances in one example.
Keep studying AP Gov Unit 2
Checks and Balances (Unit 1)
Impeachment is checks and balances with teeth. Most checks block an action (vetoes, judicial review), but impeachment is the only one that can remove the person doing the abusing. Federalist No. 51's whole argument that "ambition must counteract ambition" depends on tools like this existing.
Structures and Powers of Congress (Unit 2)
The two chambers got different impeachment roles because they're designed differently. The House, closer to the people with two-year terms, brings the charges. The Senate, built to be more deliberative, holds the trial. It's the same House-Senate design logic that shapes the entire legislative process in Topic 2.2.
Checks on the Presidency (Unit 2)
Impeachment is the most extreme item in Congress's toolkit against the executive, sitting alongside Senate confirmation of appointments and the power of the purse. The Andrew Johnson acquittal shows the flip side, that the two-thirds threshold protects the president from removal by a bare partisan majority.
Checks on the Judicial Branch (Unit 2)
Federal judges serve for life "during good behavior," and impeachment is what enforces the "good behavior" part. It's one of the few ways the elected branches can hold life-tenured judges accountable, which matters for Topic 2.11's debate over judicial power.
Impeachment shows up most often in multiple-choice questions about institutional design. Expect stems asking why the Framers gave the House the sole power to impeach but the Senate the sole power to try, or what the Andrew Johnson trial (acquitted by one vote) illustrates about the difficulty of removal. The move you need to make is connecting the mechanics to the principle. Don't just recite the steps; explain that the split between chambers and the two-thirds conviction threshold reflect separation of powers, checks and balances, and protection against rash majority action. No released FRQ has centered on impeachment by name, but it's a strong piece of evidence for Concept Application and Argument Essay prompts about limiting government power, especially anything citing Federalist No. 51.
Impeachment and removal are not the same thing, and the exam loves this distinction. Impeachment is only the House's formal accusation, passed by simple majority. Removal happens only if the Senate convicts at trial with a two-thirds vote. Andrew Johnson, Bill Clinton, and Donald Trump were all impeached, but none were convicted, so none were removed. Saying a president was "impeached and removed" when they were only impeached is a classic MCQ trap.
The House of Representatives has the sole power to impeach, meaning it formally charges a federal official with abuse of power by a simple majority vote.
The Senate has the sole power to try impeachments, and conviction requires a two-thirds vote before anyone is actually removed from office.
Impeachment is an accusation, not a removal; three presidents have been impeached, but the Senate has never convicted and removed a president.
The CED frames impeachment as the key example of checks and balances allowing legal action against officials who abuse power (AP Gov 1.6.B).
Impeachment applies beyond the president; federal judges and other officials can also be impeached, which makes it a check on the judiciary too.
Andrew Johnson's one-vote acquittal in 1868 shows how the two-thirds conviction threshold makes removal deliberately hard.
It's the two-stage constitutional procedure for removing federal officials who commit "high crimes and misdemeanors." The House impeaches (charges) by simple majority, then the Senate holds a trial and needs a two-thirds vote to convict and remove. It's the CED's go-to example of checks and balances (AP Gov 1.6.B).
No. Impeachment is only the House's formal accusation. Removal requires the Senate to convict by a two-thirds vote, which has never happened to a president. Andrew Johnson, Bill Clinton, and Donald Trump were all impeached but acquitted.
The House acts like a prosecutor and grand jury, voting by simple majority to bring charges. The Senate acts as the court, holding a trial where a two-thirds vote is needed to convict. The Chief Justice presides when the president is on trial.
The two-chamber split and the two-thirds conviction bar prevent a bare partisan majority from removing officials over policy disagreements. It fits Federalist No. 51's logic of using constitutional structure to control abuses of power, by both officials and majorities.
Yes. Any federal official can be impeached, and since federal judges hold life tenure, impeachment is one of the only ways to remove them. That's why it also appears in Topic 2.11 as a check on the judicial branch.
Connect this key term to the AP exam workflow: review the course, practice questions, and check related study tools.
Review units, study guides, and course resources.
Check this vocabulary in multiple-choice context.
Apply key concepts in written AP responses.
Estimate the exam score you are working toward.
Review the highest-yield facts before practice.
Put the full course together before test day.