Fact check: House Speaker Pelosi doesn't have authority on her own to remove president from office

Chris Mueller, USA TODAY
·4 min read
  • Oops!
    Something went wrong.
    Please try again later.
  • Oops!
    Something went wrong.
    Please try again later.

The claim: Speaker Nancy Pelosi removed President Joe Biden from office

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi endorsed President Joe Biden for the presidency in April 2020 and recently commended him for his "great service to our country."

A viral Facebook video, however, claims she has since turned on him and forced him to leave office.

"Watch Pelosi Removes Biden From Wh After ‘2022 Losing’ Result," reads part of the Oct. 10 Facebook video's caption. The video was viewed more than 27,000 times in seven days.

But the claim is false. Biden has not left office, and Pelosi does not have the power to remove him by herself.

The 28-minute video doesn’t ever actually claim Pelosi has ousted Biden. Instead, it’s a portion of a Newsmax broadcast.

Follow us on Facebook! Like our page to get updates throughout the day on our latest debunks

USA TODAY reached out to the user who shared the claim for comment.

People walk outside the U.S Capitol in Washington, D.C., on June 9, 2022.
People walk outside the U.S Capitol in Washington, D.C., on June 9, 2022.

Congress, not Pelosi alone, has impeachment power

Pelosi has been a member of the House of Representatives for more than three decades and is the first and only woman to serve as speaker. Still, Pelosi does not have the power to remove Biden – or any president – from office on her own.

The president can be removed from office through an impeachment process detailed in the Constitution. Article II of the Constitution states, "The President, Vice President and all civil Officers of the United States, shall be removed from Office on Impeachment for, and Conviction of, Treason, Bribery, or other high Crimes and Misdemeanors."

The process starts with either an individual House member introducing an impeachment resolution like any other bill, or the full body passing a resolution authorizing an inquiry, the House website says. Then, it takes a simple majority to send the impeachment to trial in the Senate.

The Senate acts as a court to "consider evidence, hear witnesses and vote to acquit or convict the impeached official," the Senate website says. A two-thirds vote is required for a conviction. The penalty for any impeached official who is convicted by the Senate is removal from office.

There is no evidence Biden has been removed from office. He recently made public appearances in California and Oregon, then spent the weekend at his home in Delaware. Pelosi, meanwhile, has hosted multiple fundraisers in recent days, ahead of the upcoming midterm elections. She also released a statement on Oct. 6 applauding Biden’s decision to pardon people with federal convictions for marijuana possession.

USA TODAY has debunked numerous false claims about Pelosi, including that she bought stock in a cannabis company days before the federal marijuana pardons, that Democrats removed her from office and that former President Donald Trump filed an “impeachment lawsuit” against her.

Check Your Fact also debunked the claim.

Our rating: False

Based on our research, we rate FALSE the claim that Pelosi has removed Biden from office. Biden has not been removed from office and recently made multiple public appearances as president. Pelosi does not have the power to remove a president from office on her own. The House has the power to impeach federal officials, including presidents, and the Senate has the power to acquit or convict them.

Our fact-check sources:

Thank you for supporting our journalism. You can subscribe to our print edition, ad-free app or electronic newspaper replica here.

Our fact-check work is supported in part by a grant from Facebook.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Fact check: False claim that Pelosi removed Biden from office