Don't you need 2/3rds of the senate to convict?
Republican enablers have to maintain the big lie.I thought two thirds was for impeachment, and majority for conviction.Never mind you were right there is a requirement for two-thirds. Let's see here, Romney would support the Democrats... who else?
Yes, you do. Now those odds drop dramatically. In fact, one might say they could they could flip.
Don't you need 2/3rds of the senate to convict?
Edit: There is a question of whether or not you need 2/3rds of all senators or 2/3rds of present sentors though.
The Senate shall have the sole Power to try all Impeachments. When sitting for that Purpose, they shall be on Oath or Affirmation. 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.
Every Bill which shall have passed the House of Representatives and the Senate, shall, before it become a Law, be presented to the President of the United States: If he approve he shall sign it, but if not he shall return it, with his Objections to that House in which it shall have originated, who shall enter the Objections at large on their Journal, and proceed to reconsider it. If after such Reconsideration two thirds of that House shall agree to pass the Bill, it shall be sent, together with the Objections, to the other House, by which it shall likewise be reconsidered, and if approved by two thirds of that House, it shall become a Law.
Article 1, Section 3, which speaks to impeachment trials, states this exactly:
Note it does NOT state 2/3 of the Senate's members or 2/3 of the Senate, but 2/3 of the Members PRESENT. That in itself means you just have to have 2/3 of a quorum, which would be 50 + 1 senators.
Read it for yourself....see if there's any mention of 2/3 of the full Senate. It doesn't.
https://www.senate.gov/civics/constitution_item/constitution.htm#a1_sec3
On the other hand, there are mentions of 2/3 of each Chamber's entire elected members being required to pass legislation, such as overriding a presidential veto. (Article 1, Section 7)
To me, when one place is written "two thirds of members present" and another place is written "two thirds of that House," they cannot mean the same thing, which some are trying to do.
Note it does NOT state 2/3 of the Senate's members or 2/3 of the Senate, but 2/3 of the Members PRESENT.
Seems like an irrelevant distinction unless you are looking to cheat and exclude some member that would vote against you.
And it may be the politically expedient move to ride the fence and hope for the best. They just technically can't be directly blamed cause they did not show up for the vote.No, it just means that if some of the Republicans choose to stay away, those missing merely lower the number needed to convict...
And it may be the politically expedient move to ride the fence and hope for the best. They just technically can't be directly blamed cause they did not show up for the vote.
The fact of the matter is, the Senate itself has agreed that a 2/3 supermajority vote is required to convict. I highly doubt that will change anytime soon.
"In the case of presidential impeachment trials, the chief justice of the United States presides. The Constitution requires a two-thirds vote of the Senate to convict, and the penalty for an impeached official upon conviction is removal from office. "
.U.S. Senate: Impeachment
www.senate.gov
And it may be the politically expedient move to ride the fence and hope for the best. They just technically can't be directly blamed cause they did not show up for the vote.
You need 17 republicans to convict in the Senate.Yes, you do. Now those odds drop dramatically. In fact, one might say they could they could flip.
Nope...they didn't. Even in the appended Senate Rules of Impeachment March 2, 1868, it still says "two thirds of members present," not two thirds of the Senate membership or the entire Senate.
It requires a 2/3 vote of present members.
In no way shape or form is the Senate going to convict with a simple majority vote.
I'm sorry, but the legal theory that only 2/3 need be present and a simple majority vote will do is NOT a mainstream nor accepted opinion.
It will not hold water. The Senate operates under the rule that a 2/3 vote is needed to convict as that is how they have taken the language of the constitution.
When the Senate has a quorum, 51 members present, it's functionally the same as if all 100 are present. If 49 stay away (fat chance) then 35 Senators would be a 2/3 majority. It won't happen. A few Repubs might not show rather than vote either way.
2/3 vote of present members
So TINO's ? Trumper In Name Only?No, it just means that if some of the Republicans choose to stay away, those missing merely lower the number needed to convict...
We already know one ... Romney... we need 16.You need 17 republicans to convict in the Senate.
We already know one ... Romney... we need 16.
