On Dec. 18, the House of Representatives voted to impeach President Donald Trump, making him the third U.S. President to have been successfully impeached. What does the President’s future look like?

In order to comprehend the process, one’s goal should be to understand the process and politics behind this particular impeachment and why impeachment does not mean removal from office. In 2016, when Trump won the Presidency, the House of Representatives and the Senate were also won by the Republican Party, giving the Democratic Party little power in the realm of impeachment. Despite this, Democrats believed it was their duty to impeach Trump for his phone call with the President of the Ukraine. In 2019, the Democrats in the House of Representatives convicted him of “Obstruction of Congress” for not cooperating with Congress despite being a separate entity of the government, along with “Abuse of Power” for his phone call with the Ukrainian President, in which many believe he attempted to bribe the president.

Every single American needs to stay informed about this impeachment process, because it will likely influence the way in which people cast their ballots in 2020. Many people believe that because Trump was impeached, he will be removed from office. This is all but true. After the House of Representatives votes on the impeachment, it is then handed off to the Senate, where they decide whether or not to remove the President from office.

Due to the fact that the Senate has a Republican majority, it is extremely unlikely that Trump will be removed from office. In the House, the vote on impeachment was very clearly along party lines, and it most likely will be that way in the Senate as well. Many Senate Republicans, such as Senator Lindsey Graham, have been very outspoken in regards to supporting the President throughout the impeachment process, and would never consider voting to impeach him. For Republican voters, this further exemplifies how determined the Democrats are to undo the results of the 2016 Presidential Election; for Democratic voters, this shows that regardless of his impeachment, he will most likely stay in power due to the Republican majority.

Whichever way one may cast their ballots in 2020, everyone has an obligation to stay informed, as this impeachment process will certainly influence the election. If Trump is re-elected, but Democrats maintain their majority in the House and gain a majority in the Senate, he is as good as gone. However, if the Republicans keep their Senate majority and the White House, while also managing to flip the House of Representatives, Democrats are going to have to deal with Trump until at least the 2022 midterms.