Legal Question in Constitutional Law in Arizona

Approval rating for the president and congress are at all-time lows, and this shutdown is a symptom of lack of representation and effectiveness. Is there anything the American public to impeach/remove ALL OF THEM?


Asked on 10/10/13, 6:52 am

1 Answer from Attorneys

Edward Hoffman Law Offices of Edward A. Hoffman

The House decides whom to impeach. When someone has been impeached, the Senate decides whether to remove him from office. They are not going to impeach and remove themselves.

What the public can do is vote for different senators or representatives in the future. But that isn't likely to happen much in the next election cycle. Why? Because most congressional districts were drawn in ways that give one party a secure majority of the voters. The current representatives are not likely to lose a general election to the other party's candidate. But they might lose a primary election to someone from their own party. So most representatives are not very eager to please voters from the other party, and focus instead on pleasing their own base. Instead of giving them an incentive to negotiate, the system encourages them to stand their ground.

The Senate works differently, because each senator represents his or her entire state. There is no way to draw "safe" districts for them. (Some entire states are heavily Republican or Democratic, but most could go either way.) Senators generally have far more reason to worry about how the other party sees them than representatives do. That is one reason why the Senate is much more eager to end the current stalemate than the House.

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Answered on 10/10/13, 11:10 am


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