In the history of the United States, two presidents have undergone the impeachment process. Neither Andrew Johnson nor Bill Clinton, the 17th and 42nd presidents, respectively, were removed from office. Richard Nixon, the 37th president, came close to facing impeachment, but resigned from the presidency before the House voted to pursue impeachment. 

To impeach a sitting president of the United States is to call charges upon them, which is done by a formal majority House vote. To remove a sitting president from office, however, requires a two-thirds majority vote from the Senate — a significantly harder task, which explains why no president’s impeachment has resulted in their removal from office.

After three years of Democratic legislatures calling for an impeachment inquiry, Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi announced a formal impeachment inquiry last week, ending her long-held stance of refusal to pursue impeachment procedures against President Donald Trump. 

This comes just days after a transcript of a phone call between President Trump and Ukranian officials was released by the White House — a call in which Trump urged officials to begin an investigation into former Vice President Joe Biden’s son, Hunter Biden. All this as he was withholding much-needed aid from Ukraine that Congress had already approved.

The president’s unpredictability makes it difficult to determine the course of the inquiry. Pelosi’s original stance, to refrain from pursuing impeachment ahead of the 2020 presidential election, is not only the most practical, but also the safest route the Democrats could take. 

Due to the length of time it takes to seek inquiry and votes, the impeachment timeline will parallel the election timeline, furthering this never-before-seen aspect of the Trump administration. 

Though every impeachment — be it presidential or for another government official — is entirely unique to the rest of the political sphere. Seeking impeachment of President Trump right now is risky for the Democratic party.

It’s clear that Democrats dislike President Trump — so much so that members have called for impeachment since election night in 2016. However, calling for impeachment just over a year prior to the election is dangerous. 

It has statistically shown through Clinton’s impeachment, that impeachment procedures tend to rally the party base of constituents. This means, in theory, that if the impeachment inquiry results in nothing, or if a Senate vote fails to remove Trump from office, he will be more likely to win reelection than if the inquiry were not presented at all.

Thus, with potentially only a year left in the Trump administration, Pelosi and other Democratic leaders need to be confident enough in the allegations brought against Trump that they will successfully remove him from office, unlikely as that may be.