Will Trump still be called 'President' after impeachment? He'll keep a lot but will lose the thing he wants most
House Democrats have filed an article of impeachment against President Donald "for incitement of insurrection", alleging the 74-year-old egged his supporters to storm the US Capitol building on January 6 that led to the death of five people, including a police officer. However, some reports have stated that with President-elect Joe Biden’s inauguration a few days away, it seems unlikely that Trump would be removed from office in time.
There were a few reports that said if the Republican leader were to be removed successfully, he will risk losing benefits a former president is entitled to, including a lifetime pension and up to $1 million per year for security and travel. Besides, after the successful impeachment, Trump won’t be able to run for the White House again. Nikkei Asia reported that these are the reasons why the Democrats are pursuing for impeachment.
According to the Former Presidents Act, a 1958 federal law, an ex-president is entitled to get benefits that cover a lifetime monthly pension at the rate "of the head of an executive department," which exceeds $200,000 a year; an office staff with a total pay of up to $96,000 per year; and "office space appropriately furnished and equipped." Furthermore, when a former president dies, his widow is entitled to a $20,000 annual pension.
Josh Blackman, a constitutional law professor at South Texas College of Law Houston, said that if Trump is impeached, tried, and convicted while in office, he will lose his pension, his office, and staff benefits. But it is very unlikely that he will lose his Secret Service security detail. However, if the removal did not happen before the January 20 inauguration of Biden, Trump would remain a "former president" under the Former Presidents Act because "a former president cannot be 'removed' from a position he no longer holds” and only thing that would be banned for him will be his ability to run in 2024.
After a president is impeached by the House of Representatives, the Senate conducts a trial where a two-thirds vote is required for conviction. If he is convicted, the Senate can also disqualify him from holding office again with a separate simple-majority vote. Summing up, if Trump is convicted after he leaves office, the only thing he loses is the ability to run for public office.
Meanwhile, a report claimed that the FBI has received information if Donald Trump is impeached by invoking the 25th amendment before Biden takes office, a “huge uprising” can happen in Washington, D.C. An FBI daily bulletin stated that officers have received information that if “Congress attempts to remove Potus via the 25th Amendment a huge uprising will occur”. According to the report, supporters of Trump are also planning to harm state, federal, and local government buildings as well as courthouses.
"Armed protests are being planned at all 50 state capitols from 16 January through at least 20 January, and at the US Capitol from 17 January through 20 January," the bulletin declared. In the light of these threats, the National Parks Service (NPS) canceled its tours of the Washington Monument until 24 January. Jeffrey P Reinbold, superintendent of the National Mall and Memorial Parks, issued a statement that read, “The temporary closures are not of nature, magnitude or duration that will result in a 'significant alteration in the public use pattern.' The closures will not adversely affect the park’s natural aesthetic or cultural values.”