Donald Trump could lose a raft of post-presidential perks if he is successfully impeached and removed from office by the Senate, including an almost NZ$300,000 pension.
Around 60 Democratic members of the US House of Representatives have already pledged support to Trump's impeachment, with Congresswoman Ilhan Omar on Friday saying the impeachment will happen "most likely tomorrow".
If the majority of the House decides to impeach Trump, then there will be a Senate trial where they decide whether Trump will be convicted or acquitted.
If he is convicted, Trump may lose some of the benefits former Presidents enjoy due to the US 1958 Former Presidents Act.
These benefits include:
- A guaranteed pension which is equal to the annual rate of pay of the head of an executive department (around US$219,000 per year)
- Transition funding for the expenses of leaving office
- Access to health insurance
- Furnished office space and staff
If the House of Representatives votes to impeach Trump and then the Senate votes to remove him from office, Trump would lose his generous pension.
However, if he is just impeached and not removed from office then he would not be denied them, for example, he was impeached in 2019 for his efforts to use the United State's relationship with Ukraine for his own political ends but he wasn't removed from office and therefore not denied his pension.
But even if the impeachment and removal go ahead, it wouldn't stop Trump from running for President again in 2024.
Presidents in the United States are allowed a maximum of two terms in office, but they don't have to be consecutive.
An earlier version of this article included a version of a widely shared tweet which contained claims which were proven incorrect by CNN in a fact check. The tweet and comments from the tweet which were included in the article have been removed.
