Mdthbs

Does the US require a House vote to begin an impeachment inquiry?

News sources such as this CNN article seem to show a disagreement between the White House saying that a House vote is required, while the Speaker of the House holds that they have the power to declare one on their own.

According to Wikipedia, the procedure is threefold. First, there are investigations by congressional committees. Second, the House of Representatives draws up articles of impeachment and votes on them. When these votes are passed then the defendant is impeached. Third, the Senate holds a trial. If two-thirds of the Senate votes to convict on (one of) the articles of impeachment then the defendant is removed from office.

The NYT also has an article on this, regarding the process it draws from historical examples. It writes:

In both the Nixon and the Clinton cases, the House Judiciary Committee first held an investigation and recommended articles of impeachment to the full House. In theory, however, the House of Representatives could instead set up a special panel to handle the proceedings — or just hold a floor vote on such articles without any committee vetting them.

When the full House votes on articles of impeachment, if at least one gets a majority vote, the president is impeached — which is essentially the equivalent of being indicted.

So it's normal for a presidential impeachment to be preceded by an inquiry in which congressional committees investigate by hearing witnesses.

One may compare it to a police investigation before the district attorney (DA) brings charges to the courtroom. In high profile cases, the DA's office may have multiple people considering whether to take it to trial. Taking it to trial means filing an indictment and that's similar to the House bringing charges in the form of articles of impeachment. Then, a trial takes place at the end of which a jury determines if the defendant is guilty of (some of) the charges, which is similar to the Senate's role in the impeachment process.

While the constitution doesn't specify the first step of the impeachment process as explained in my answer explicitly. The start of these investigations are said to be the start of the impeachment process but do not require a specific vote. Establishing a dedicated committee to investigate a president may require a vote.

The difficulty in answering your question with a solid yes or no lies with the ill-defined start of the impeachment inquiry. When there's a vote at the beginning of the inquiry saying that the inquiry starts then it's a clear cut case. When there's no vote, then it's less clear but it doesn't mean there can't be an inquiry without a vote.

Another answer claims that the current situation is unprecedented, which does seem to be true. Regardless of that, the investigation does seem to be authorized by the House Rules.

Each committee may conduct at any time such investigations and studies as it considers necessary or appropriate in the exercise of its responsibilities under rule X.

(Rule XI(1)(b)(1), page 16)

In turn, Rule X includes in the judiciary committee's responsibilities matters relating to "Subversive activities affecting the internal security of the United States" (Rule X(1)(l)(19)).

The constitution provides in Article I, section 5, that "Each House may determine the Rules of its Proceedings...," so really the only entity that can require the House of Representatives to pass a resolution before embarking on an impeachment inquiry is the House of Representatives itself.

As noted in a comment, this extends to the remedy if it were found that the inquiry actually was in violation of the house rules: in that case, the only remedy lies with the house itself. The courts cannot intervene.

Does the US require a House vote to begin an impeachment inquiry?

This document from the United States House of Representatives indicates that a vote is required.

Impeachment

The House's Role

The House brings impeachment charges against federal officials as part of its oversight and investigatory responsibilities. Individual Members of the House can introduce impeachment resolutions like ordinary bills, or the House could initiate proceedings by passing a resolution authorizing an inquiry. The Committee on the Judiciary ordinarily has jurisdiction over impeachments, but special committees investigated charges before the Judiciary Committee was created in 1813. The committee then chooses whether to pursue articles of impeachment against the accused official and report them to the full House.

[Emphasis added.]

A resolution requires a vote. (The "hopper" method, by a member, does not have an inquiry.)

A referenced document from the above is,

Sullivan, John. “Chapter 27—Impeachment,” in House Practice: A Guide to the Rules, Precedents, and Procedures of the House. (Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office, 2011).

§ 6. In General; Initiation and Referral of Charges

Generally

Under the modern practice, an impeachment is normally instituted by the House by the adoption of a resolution calling for a committee investigation of charges against the officer in question. This committee may, after investigation, recommend the dismissal of charges or it may recommend impeachment.

Initiation of Charges

In most cases, impeachment proceedings in the House have been initiated either by introducing a resolution of impeachment through the hopper or by offering a resolution of impeachment on the floor as a question of the privileges of the House.

Referral to Committee

Resolutions introduced through the hopper that directly call for an impeachment are referred to the Committee on the Judiciary, whereas resolutions merely calling for a committee investigation with a view toward impeachment are referred to the Committee on Rules.

§ 7. Committee Investigations

Committee impeachment investigations are governed by those portions of Rule XI relating to committee investigative and hearing procedures, and by any rules and special procedures adopted by the House and by the committee for the inquiry. ... The House may by resolution waive or supplement a requirement of these rules in a particular case. In several recent instances, the House agreed to a resolution authorizing the counsel to the Committee on the Judiciary to take depositions of witnesses in an impeachment investigation and waiving the provision of Rule XI that requires at least two committee members to be present during the taking of such testimony.

Subcommittee Investigations

An investigative subcommittee charged with an impeachment inquiry is limited to the powers expressly authorized by the House or by the full committee.

Again resolution (or it's implication) appears often in this document.

It appears, to me, that whatever Speaker Pelosi is doing, with regard to the impeachment inquiry, is unprecedented.