Trump impeached by House of Representatives
Donald Trump became only the third US President to be impeached as members of the House of Representatives on Wednesday evening approved the two articles charging him.
After a full day of debate, the House voted 230-197 to approve a first article of impeachment that charged Trump with abuse of power and voted 229-198 approving the second article charging him with obstruction of Congress.
The impeachment came after a scandal revealed President Trump was pressuring Ukraine’s leader to dig up dirt about the former vice-president Joe Biden, one of Trump’s main Democrat rivals, and then blocking congressional oversight.
He now faces a trial in the Senate controlled by Republicans where he is likely to be acquitted. A two-thirds majority is needed in the Senate to convict and remove Trump from office which seems unlikely since no members have voiced their support for the impeachment. It is expected that the proceedings will begin next month.
Trump spoke at a campaign rally in Michigan on Wednesday as the process unfolded saying: “It doesn’t really feel like we’re being impeached,” he said, to cheers. “This lawless partisan impeachment is a political suicide march for the Democrat party.”
Trump was handed the vote tally onstage during his rally. “We didn’t lose one Republican vote and three Democrats voted for us,” he said to applause. “The Republican party has never been so affronted, but they’ve never been so united as they are right now.”
Nancy Pelosi speaker of the House and the one who initiated the impeachment in the first place described the proceedings as a “sad day” for the country.
As she addressed the House, Pelosi warned that “our founder’s vision of a republic is under threat by actions from the White House”.
“It is tragic that the president’s reckless actions make impeachment necessary,” she said. “He gave us no choice.”
Following Wednesday’s votes, White House press secretary Stephanie Grisham called the impeachment an “unconstitutional travesty.”
She said Trump was "confident the Senate will restore regular order, fairness, and due process,” and he was prepared “for the next steps and confident that he will be fully exonerated".