House Judiciary Chairman Jerry Nadler is tending to an undisclosed family emergency in New York City and will miss the last procedural step before articles of impeachment come to the floor, a committee aide confirmed Tuesday.

Nadler is expected to return to Washington late Tuesday or early Wednesday before the impeachment vote. In the meantime, Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.), another member of the Judiciary Committee, is expected to fill in and handle the presentation of articles of impeachment to the Rules Committee, which will tee them up for Wednesday's vote.


The Rules Committee is the last stop in the process before articles of impeachment reach the House floor. The panel will set the terms of floor debate before what is expected to be a party-line vote to impeach President Donald Trump, just the third time in history the House will have recommended a president's removal from office.

The two articles of impeachment charge Trump with abuse of power and obstruction of Congress over the president's attempt to pressure Ukraine to investigate his political rivals.