Washington: A defiant Donald Trump has insisted he did nothing wrong in his dealings with Ukraine even as the US House of Representatives voted to impeach the President for abusing his power and obstructing Congress in a historic set of votes.

Wrangling between Democrats and Republicans has already begun over how to conduct the next stage of the impeachment process: a trial in the Republican-controlled Senate to determine whether Trump should be removed from office.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi announces the passage of the first article of impeachment, abuse of power, against President Donald Trump. Credit:AP

Following the House votes, Speaker Nancy Pelosi suggested she may delay transmitting the articles of impeachment to the Senate in a bid to gain more leverage for Democrats over the rules for the Senate trial.

Trump is only the third president in US history to be impeached, following Bill Clinton in 1998 and Andrew Johnson in 1868.