Democrats cannot convict Trump in the Senate without the support of Republicans.

A two-thirds majority is needed to convict Trump in the Senate trial. Democrats would need at least 17 Republicans to vote in their favor.

A two-thirds majority is needed to convict Trump in the Senate trial. Democrats would need at least 17 Republicans to vote in their favor.The U.S. House of Representatives has impeached President Donald Trump for inciting his supporters to attack the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021. House Democrats voted unanimously to impeach Trump. Trump is the first president to be impeached on two separate occasions.

The Senate will now have a trial to ascertain whether or not Trump is guilty. The Senate sits as the High Court of Impeachment. The senators hear witnesses, consider evidence, and vote to clear or convict the impeached executive. The chief justice of the U.S. presides over the trial in the case of presidential impeachment trials. As per federal law, no person shall be convicted without a two-thirds majority of Senate members present.

Newly-elected senators will take office when Joe Biden is sworn in on January 20. The Senate will move from a narrow Republican to a narrow Democratic majority. If 100 senators are present for the trial, then at least 17 Republicans need to join the Democrats to convict Trump. Democrats hold 48 seats with two independents who caucus with the Democrats.

Mitch McConnell, the Senate's Republican majority leader, has declined Democratic calls for an immediate impeachment trial, saying that the trial cannot commence until after the U.S. Senate returns from a recess on January 19. This means that the trial will take place after Biden's inauguration on January 20.