Does the Constitution specify who should preside over the impeachment of a sitting president?
“When the President of the United States is tried, the Chief Justice shall preside,” the Constitution declares. Chief Justice John Roberts was thus not required to preside over former President Donald Trump’s second Senate trial, as Trump was already out of office. The chief justice did preside over Trump’s first impeachment trial last year.
Sen. Patrick Leahy, a Vermont Democrat who is president pro tempore of the Senate, took on the role in place of the chief justice. “The president pro tempore has historically presided over Senate impeachment trials of non-presidents,” Leahy said, noting that he takes the responsibility “extraordinarily seriously.” The president pro tempore is named by the Senate to preside in the absence of the Vice President, and is usually the longest-serving member of the majority party.
