What actually happens if Trump is convicted in February's impeachment trial?

TL;DR: If the Senate voted to convict Trump – which requires support from at least two-thirds of the Senate, or 67 votes – it would not lead to immediate consequences, mainly because Trump already has left office.

Trump’s trial date is set for February 9 - and we don’t know when it will end (most impeachement trials have lasted about five days).

If Trump is convicted, he will not lose his security detail or other perks, because the Former Presidents Act (which grants those perks) only withholds them if the President’s service in office was 'terminated' by the impeachment and conviction. Trump’s term of office was terminated by the election and swearing in of Joe Biden, not by impeachment and conviction.

The real punishment would happen after – and only after – conviction.

With a simple majority vote (51 out of 100), the Senate could disqualify him from holding federal elective office in the future. Essentially, it would prevent Trump from running again for president, an office he has indicated he might pursue in 2024.

In 1974, the House abandoned impeachment after Richard Nixon resigned. But, unlike Trump, Nixon had already been elected twice – and therefor ineligible to run again under the 22nd amendment to the Constitution – so there was no need to disqualify him.

Constitutional scholars say this too has never been tested against a president or former president and is likely to face a legal challenge should senators vote to bar Trump from future office.