Trump's historic impeachment, by the numbers

(Image credit: Scott Olson/Getty Images)

President Trump became the third president in U.S. history to be impeached on Wednesday and the first Republican. While the votes were being cast, Trump was speaking at a rally in Michigan, making him the first president away from Washington, D.C, during his impeachment. The House impeached him on two counts, abuse of power and obstruction of Congress — leaving him tied with former President Bill Clinton for the smallest number of approved articles of impeachment. At the same time, he was impeached with the highest number of votes.

Former President Andrew Johnson's impeachment was more lopsided — 126 in favor, 47 opposed — but had a smaller number of yea votes due to the smaller size of the House in 1868. Johnson and Clinton, both Democrats, also faced their Senate trials with Republicans in the majority. Former President Richard Nixon, who resigned before he could become the first Republican impeached and first president convicted and removed from office, faced a Democratic majority in the Senate.

The good news for Trump is that, unlike in the previous three serious impeachment efforts, his own party control the Senate, CNN notes. "The bad news for Trump is that the party of every president who faced impeachment lost the next presidential election." It's worth remembering in all of this that when it comes to presidential impeachment, the sample size is very small.

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Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.