House of Representatives Votes to Impeach President Trump With No Bipartisan Support

On Wednesday, Dec. 18 the House of Representatives voted to impeach President Trump with two articles of impeachment: Obstruction and Abuse of Power. 

Article 1: Abuse of Power – 230 Yeas to 197 Nays 

Yea: 229 Democrats 1 Independent

Nay: 195 Republicans 2 Democrats

Present: 1 Democrat

Notable: Democratic Representatives Van Drew (NJ) and Peterson (MN) voted nay. Presidential candidate Tulsi Gabbard voted present.

Article 2: Obstruction of Congress  – 229 Yeas to 198 Nays 

Yea: 229 Democrats 1 Independent

Nay: 195 Republicans 3 Democrats

Present: 1 Democrat

Notable: Democratic Representatives Van Drew (NJ), Peterson (MN), and Golden (ME) voted nay. Presidential candidate Tulsi Gabbard voted present. 

Politico has an excellent graphic of the votes and how each congressman voted. View it here. 

After many hours of hearings and debate, the House officially made President Trump the 3rd president to be impeached. The others were Andrew Johnson in 1868 and Bill Clinton in 1998. It is noted that Richard Nixon resigned before he faced impeachment. Also, noted that impeachment passed by the House does not mean that President Trump will be removed from office. It means that the Senate is expected to hold a trial. 

House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy spoke before the vote saying, “Tonight I rise, not as the leader of the opposition to this impeachment, or as the elected representative of the Central Valley of California. I rise as Kevin McCarthy. Citizen. No better, no worse than the 435 representatives of this chamber. Or the 330 million Americans watching this institution make what I believe would be one of the worst decisions we have ever made. It doesn’t matter whether you’re a Democrat or a Republican, whether you’re a liberal or conservative, whether you’re the 1st generation of the 10th. At our core, we are all American … Here is our choice tonight. Will we let impeachment become an exercise of raw political power regardless if it damages our country? Or will we protect the proper grounds and process of impeachment now and in the future?… This is their [Democratic Party and media] last attempt to stop the Trump presidency.”  

President Trump quoted Fox News host Tucker Carlson on what he believes how the majority of the country views impeachment: 

“Impeachment is a terrible idea for the Country. The more people learn about impeachment, the less people want impeachment.” @TuckerCarlson

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 18, 2019

Process of Impeachment and Removal of a president (from Reuters):

“Impeachment begins in the House, the lower chamber, which debates and votes on whether to bring charges against the president via approval of an impeachment resolution, or “articles of impeachment,” by a simple majority of the body’s members. The Constitution gives House leaders wide latitude in deciding how to conduct impeachment proceedings, legal experts said. 

The House Intelligence Committee investigated whether Trump abused his power to pressure Ukraine to open probes that would benefit him politically, holding weeks of closed-door testimony and televised hearings before issuing a formal evidence report. 

The House Judiciary Committee used the report to draft formal charges and voted 23-17 along party lines to approve charges against Trump of abuse of power and obstructing House Democrats’ attempts to investigate him for it. 

If the full House approves articles of impeachment as expected there will be a trial in the Senate. House members act as the prosecutors; the senators as jurors; the chief justice of the United States presides. Historically, the president has been allowed to have defense lawyers call witnesses and request documents.”

According to Business Insider’s article about comparing past presidents’ impeachment processes, “In 1868, Andrew Johnson was impeached for breaching the Tenure of Office Act, but the Senate narrowly acquitted him by one vote. In 1974, Richard Nixon faced an impeachment inquiry, but he quit before he could be impeached. In 1998, Bill Clinton was impeached, but he was acquitted by the Senate.”

Additionally, “Only 11 days had passed after a whistleblower complaint before Pelosi announced an impeachment inquiry, Axios reported. For Nixon, it took 599 days from the Watergate break-in to an inquiry, while for Clinton it took 260 days from the first news report of an affair to an inquiry.” Read the full informative article here.