WASHINGTON – Today is a busy day in impeachment news. The House passed a major resolution on the rules going forward and a key witness testified about what he knows.

National Security Council official Timothy Morrison testified Thursday before congressional committees conducting an impeachment investigation of President Donald Trump as the House of Representatives voted on rules and procedures for the inquiry.

Follow along for the latest impeachment updates on Thursday:

Morrison concludes his testimony and leaves the Capitol

After about eight and a half hours of testimony before the House Intelligence, Foreign Affairs, and Intelligence Committees, Morrison left the Capitol without making any comments.

Republicans hailed his testimony as a victory, though they could not comment on any of the details.

"I think it was a great day for American, a great day for the president, and if any witness would suggest that the impeachment resolution was passed earlier today should come to a screeching halt, it is this witness," said Rep. Mark Meadows, R-N.C.

When asked about her colleague's comments, Rep. Val Demings, D-Fla., said, "I'm not sure what he's talking about."

These are the Democrats who voted against the resolution

Rep. Jeff Van Drew says he and Rep. Collin Peterson had talked “a little bit” before being the only two Democrats voting against the impeachment resolution.

“Collin would always kid. He said, ‘It’s just going to be you and me’ and I said, ‘no, it might be more people.’ But it was just him and me,” he said with a laugh. “He's been around a long time. He knows what's going on.”

He said he wasn’t concerned with giving fodder for Republicans and the president to attack Democrats since it was not a completely united front. He said he worried that impeachment would become a “tool” to override American votes when a president is “less than they should be at times.”

“The real issue here is people should vote in what's in their heart and what they believe is right,” he added. “That’s what I've always done.”

Morrison says he was 'not concerned' about illegality on Trump-Zelensky call but notified NSC lawyers

Morrison says he notified the National Security Council's lawyers about the July 25 call, but he said "I was not concerned that anything illegal was discussed," in his opening statement. According to his opening statement, obtained first by CBS News and confirmed by Rep. Tom Malinowski, D-N.J., a member of the Foreign Affairs Committee, Morrison said the "substance" of Ambassador William Taylor's statement to the committees was correct, though he disagreed with Taylor on a few of the details.

On Oct. 23, Taylor had told the House Foreign Affairs, Oversight, and Intelligence Committees about a conversation Morrison had relayed to him between European Union Ambassador Gordon Sondland and adviser to the Ukrainian president Andriy Yermak. Sondland had told Yermak aid would be conditioned on a commitment to investigations, according to Taylor's account of Morrison's description.

Taylor's account of the conversation said, though, that the aid would be released if the Ukrainian president would publicly commit to investigations, while Morrison told members of Congress and staff today that it would be sufficient for the Ukrainian prosecutor general to commit to investigations.

Morrison also describes his impressions of the July 25 call between Trump and Zelensky. Morrison listened to the call, and says, ”To the best of my recollection, the MemCon accurately and completely reflects the substance of the call," using the acronym for the summary of the call released by the White House.

After the call, Morrison asked the National Security Council Legal Adviser and his deputy to review it. Morrison was concerned about the implications of a leak of the call with regards to how it would be viewed in "Washington's polarized environment," potential effects on the "bipartisan support" for Ukraine, and impacts on Ukrainian perceptions of the U.S.-Ukraine relationship.

He notes, "I want to be clear, I was not concerned that anything illegal was discussed."

House resolution passes with some drama

The House erupted into brief chaos as Republicans shouted “OBJECTION!” as the resolution passed on a 232-196 vote.

No Republicans voted in favor of the resolution but two Democrats did vote against it – Peterson, who represents a Minnesota district that went to Trump by 31 points and New Jersey’s Jeff Van Drew, who has criticized the impeachment inquiry and represents a district that went to Trump by nearly 5 points.

Rep. Justin Amash, an Independent and frequent critic of the president, voted in favor with Democrats.

Republicans just came out to tout the unity among its caucus. Scalise says it also signals “strong unity for the president and his policies “ domestic and foreign.

He again called it a “Soviet-style” process.

McCarthy gets praise for his criticism of the resolution

House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., was met with a standing ovation, handshakes and pats on the back after offering a scathing rebuke of the resolution, calling the process unprecedented, undemocratic and unfair.

“This is the moment that history will write,” he said.

House debates impeachment resolution

The House began debating a resolution that establishes procedures for the impeachment inquiry as the investigation moves into the next phase, which will happen in public. The full House will vote on the measure later this morning.

Only a handful of Republicans had gathered on the House floor as the debate began, a stark contrast to the large group of Democrats who sat together to defend it and their work.

“This is a sad day for our country,” House Rules Committee Chairman Jim McGovern, D-Mass., said opening the debate. “If we don't hold this president accountable, we could be ceding our ability to hold any president accountable."

House Intelligence Chairman Adam Schiff, who has led the impeachment investigation into President Trump’s dealings with Ukraine, noted “the task before us is a solemn one,” but one that was forced before them because “no one is above the law.”

Democrats gathered on the House floor applauded House Speaker Nancy Pelosi as she concluded her speech on the resolution. She started off by quoting the U.S. Constitution and the Founding Fathers but noted that the “times have found us” and thrust the House to take the next step in impeachment.

“This is very solemn, this is very prayerful,” she said, explaining no one comes to Congress to impeach a president.

One-by-one, lawmakers stepped up to discuss the resolution. Democrats defended their work and noted their dismay of moving forward with impeachment against Trump. Each Republican denounced the resolution, calling it a sham and unfair. Some specifically noted a meeting Wednesday where Democrats rejected more than a dozen possible changes posed by Republicans, who argued the additions could instill bipartisan support for the processes.

“This is a travesty. This is a sad day,” Rep. Doug Collins, the top Republican on the House Judiciary Committee.

“Trying to put a ribbon on a sham process doesn't make it any less of a sham,” Rep. Jim Jordan, the top Republican on the House Oversight Committee.

Morrison has been 'corroborating the testimony'

Lawmakers coming out of the secure room in the Capitol basement said Morrison had corroborated previous witnesses’ statements, including that of Ambassador William Taylor. Taylor had described Morrison as the key witness to a conversation between European Union Ambassador Gordon Sondland and Ukrainian presidential adviser Andriy Yermak.

"Ambassador Sondland told Mr. Yermak that the security assistance money would not come until President Zelenskyy committed to pursue the Burisma investigation," Taylor said of Morrison’s description of the conversation.

Rep. Jackie Speier, D-Calif., said Morrison had concluded giving his opening statement, and while she did not comment on the details of it, she said “it did” confirm parts of Ambassador William Taylor’s testimony.

Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, D-Fla., said, “like other witnesses, he has been corroborating the testimony.”

When asked if she believed there was a quid pro quo in which security assistance was held up in exchange for the opening of investigations, she replied, “throughout the testimony I was listening to, there has been a lot of puzzle pieces filled into what is like a 1,000 piece puzzle, and some of it has drew [sic] a direct line more clearly.”

Morrison was subpoenaed and is now answering questions

An official working on the impeachment inquiry tells USA TODAY that Morrison was subpoenaed to compel his testimony "in light of an attempt by the White House to direct Timothy Morrison not to appear."

"In light of an attempt by the White House to direct Timothy Morrison not to appear for his scheduled deposition, and efforts to also limit any testimony that does occur, the House Intelligence Committee issued a subpoena to compel his testimony this morning," the official said.

The official adds that Morrison complied with the subpoena and is now "answering questions from both Democratic and Republican Members and staff."

Morrison arrives for his interview

Morrison arrived for his closed-door interview with the House Foreign Affairs, Oversight, and Intelligence Committees. Morrison would soon be leaving his position after more than a year of service, according to a senior administration official.

He did not answer questions or make remarks as he walked into the secure room in the Capitol basement for his interview.

Morrison is the first Whtie House political appointee to testify in the impeachment inquiry. His name was mentioned repeatedly in Ambassador William Taylor’s Oct. 22 testimony, and Morrison appears to be a key witness in some of Taylor's allegations against the Trump administration.

House of Representatives to vote on rules for public hearings

The House of Representatives is scheduled to vote Thursday on a Democratic resolution mapping out rules for public hearings in the impeachment investigation of President Donald Trump, after weeks of Republicans criticizing the inquiry for holding closed-door meetings in the basement of the Capitol.

The vote will be the first of the full House under the formal impeachment inquiry and will put moderate lawmakers from both parties under scrutiny heading into the 2020 election. The resolution formalizes the public phase of the investigation with hearings and evidence-sharing with the president’s counsel, even as Republicans continue to criticize the process as a “sham.”