If the House votes to impeach, does the Senate have to have a trial?

[MikeS]

@D_Anconia

Cloture is generally 60 votes, not 2/3.

Invoking cloture on a debate concerning a change of the standing rules is an exception; it requires a 2/3 majority. See here (PDF).

The majority required to invoke cloture for most business is three-fifths of the Senators duly chosen and sworn, or 60 votes if there are no vacancies in the Senate’s membership. However, invoking cloture on a measure or motion to amend the Senate’s standing rules requires the votes of two-thirds of the Senators present and voting, or 67 votes if all 100 Senators vote. Additionally, under precedents established on November 21, 2013, and April 6, 2017, invoking cloture on presidential nominations requires a vote of a majority of Senators present and voting, or 51 votes if all 100 Senators vote.

[John_Mace]

@MikeS

Invoking cloture on a debate concerning a change of the standing rules is an exception; it requires a 2/3 majority. See here (PDF).

Isn’t there some loophole where a rule change can be made by a simple majority at the start of the yearly session or something?

[Saint_Cad]

@John_Mace

Isn’t there some loophole where a rule change can be made by a simple majority at the start of the yearly session or something?

That has never been tested. In Parliamentary Law, standing rules continue for the duration of the body unless amended or rescinded. With Congress, there is a school of thought that each session is a new body and and since the Senate does not want to test this, they vote at the beginning of each session to continue the rules from the session before.

[UltraVires]

@Iggy

Article I, Section 3 of the Constitution contains the word “shall” which is often interpreted as a command or requirement.

**emphasis **mine

At least as it regards and impeachment of the President the Chief Justice is required to preside over a trial in the Senate. So, IMHO, there has to be a trial.

However there is no particular compulsion on issues such as timeliness. Could the Senate delay a trial until after a mid-term or general election? Perhaps.

I gotta disagree with your textual analysis there, Iggy (Fargo voice ) Under your logic, wouldn’t an impeachment be REQUIRED so that the Senate “shall” have a trial?

[Elendil_s_Heir]

@Iggy

…And the earlier post… the “shall” commandment I referred to is in relation to the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court…

Nitpick: it’s the Chief Justice of the United States.

Who’s America’s top judge?

[kaylasdad99]

@Roderick_Femm

Ask yourself, not about Trump, but about the next populist who comes along. What if s/he isn’t corrupt but is pure and driven by ideology instead of greed (I’m thinking of Walter Huston’s character in the movie “Gabriel Over the White House” as an example, a truly terrifying movie)?

kaylasdad99 heads to wikipedia and reads the plot synopsis for GOtWH.

Yikes.

I notice that W R Hearst was a financial backer of this movie and a creative contributor. Did this facet of the Hearst legacy find its way into Cirizen Kane, I wonder (that’s right; I’ll say it: I’ve never watched Citizen Kane)?

[Bryan_Ekers]

@kaylasdad99

I notice that W R Hearst was a financial backer of this movie and a creative contributor. Did this facet of the Hearst legacy find its way into Cirizen Kane, I wonder (that’s right; I’ll say it: I’ve never watched Citizen Kane)?

Nah. Hearst and the fictional Kane diverge significantly in that after running for Governor of New York (and losing), Hearst relocated to California and eventually dabbled in movie-making while the fictional Kane stayed in New York and dabbled in opera.

This summary is superficial at best, so watch the movie already. At the very least, dozens of Simpsons bits will suddenly make sense.

[Jonathan_Chance]

@John_Mace

Anyway, like I said before, what is the remedy? I don’t see that there is any.

I think the remedy would be political, Mace. The voters would be the ultimate arbiter of the rightness of the Senate.

[Saint_Cad]

And to answer the OP : yes, by statute.

[John_Mace]

@Saint_Cad

And to answer the OP : yes, by statute.

Is that a statute? Looks like a Senate Rule.

[Saint_Cad]

@John_Mace

Is that a statute? Looks like a Senate Rule.

You’re right