A senior Republican went on a furious rant about being forced to attend a morning hearing after Democrats delayed impeachment votes just before midnight on Thursday.

The House Judiciary Committee engaged in 14 hours of fiery debate over articles of impeachment against Donald Trump before Jerry Nadler, the Democratic committee chairman, surprised members by postponing voting until 10am on Friday.

Doug Collins, the Republican ranking member, was enraged by the decision and objected to Democrats scheduling work for him on a Friday morning.

“The chairman just ambushed the entire committee and did not have any consultation with the ranking member… we’re going to have votes at 10am in the morning,” Mr Collins told reporters after the decision.

“Without consulting the ranking member, without consulting schedules of anybody.”

Donald Trump celebrity president: A decade in two halves Show all 29 1 /29 Donald Trump celebrity president: A decade in two halves Donald Trump celebrity president: A decade in two halves Trump styles his 'You're fired!' pose in his Trump Tower office in June 2012. At the time he was known as a reality TV star on The Apprentice Diane Bondareff/Invision/AP Donald Trump celebrity president: A decade in two halves He was also well known as the patron of the Miss Universe competition Getty Donald Trump celebrity president: A decade in two halves Early signs of Trump's ambition for the presidency can be found everywhere. Not least in his 2011 book 'Time to get tough: Making America #1 again' Getty Donald Trump celebrity president: A decade in two halves Trump with Piers Morgan in November 2010. Piers Morgan has long held that he and Trump are good friends Getty Donald Trump celebrity president: A decade in two halves Trump appeared on Fox & Friends, his favourite show, in August 2011 Getty Donald Trump celebrity president: A decade in two halves Trump considered running in the 2012 election, where he would have faced Barack Obama. He is speaking here at an event for a Republican women's group Getty Donald Trump celebrity president: A decade in two halves Trump was subject to a Comedy Central roast in 2011. He is pictured here being roasted by rapper Snoop Dogg Getty Donald Trump celebrity president: A decade in two halves Given that this Trump store is in the lobby of Trump Tower, it can be said that Trump sells merchandise of himself out of his own home Getty Donald Trump celebrity president: A decade in two halves Trump held meetings with prominent Republicans when considering his 2012 bid. He is pictured here with Alaska governor Sarah Palin Getty Donald Trump celebrity president: A decade in two halves He didn't end up running in 2012 afterall, instead endorsing Republican candidate Mitt Romney AFP/Getty Donald Trump celebrity president: A decade in two halves Trump's golf course in Aberdeen proved controversial in 2012 when he began lobbying the Scottish government against wind power in order that they wouldn't install turbines off the shore by his new course Getty Donald Trump celebrity president: A decade in two halves He even gave evidence to a Scottish parliamentary committee discouraging wind energy AFP/Getty Donald Trump celebrity president: A decade in two halves He still found time for a round of course AFP/Getty Donald Trump celebrity president: A decade in two halves On 16 June 2015, Trump announced that he would run for the presidency of the United States in the 2016 election as a Republican Getty Donald Trump celebrity president: A decade in two halves His campaign was divisive, courting controversy wherever he went. Ultimately he was declared the Republican candidate in June 2016 Getty Donald Trump celebrity president: A decade in two halves Trump took part in the TV debate against opponent Hillary Clinton on 9 October Getty Donald Trump celebrity president: A decade in two halves Trump and wife Melania vote in the presidential election on 8 November 2016 AFP/Getty Donald Trump celebrity president: A decade in two halves Hillary Clinton conceded defeat at 2:50am on 9 November and president-elect Trump swiftly delivered his victory speech to a crowd of supporters Getty Donald Trump celebrity president: A decade in two halves News coverage around the world focused on the huge political upset that Trump's victory spelled AFP/Getty Donald Trump celebrity president: A decade in two halves Trump met with president Obama to discusss transition planning on 10 November. AFP/Getty Donald Trump celebrity president: A decade in two halves Donald Trump and Nigel Farage pose in the golden elevator at Trump Tower on 12 November 2016. Farage was the first British politician to meet with Trump after the election LeaveEUOffical/Twitter Donald Trump celebrity president: A decade in two halves The inauguration of Donald Trump took place on 20 January 2017. Trump's press secretary Sean Spicer boasted that the crowd was the 'largest ever' to witness an inauguration, a claim that was proved not to be true Getty Donald Trump celebrity president: A decade in two halves In his first 100 days as leader, Trump signed 24 executve orders, the most of any president AFP/Getty Donald Trump celebrity president: A decade in two halves One of Trump's most memorable election pledges was to build a wall between the US and Mexico. He is standing here in front of a prototype for a section of the wall Getty Donald Trump celebrity president: A decade in two halves Trump's meetings with other world leaders have provided no short supply of photo opportunities Getty Donald Trump celebrity president: A decade in two halves Trump was welcomed to the UK by the Queen and a state banquet was held at Buckingham Palace in his honour Reuters Donald Trump celebrity president: A decade in two halves Not everyone welcomed the president. Mass protests were held in London throughout his visits in both 2018 and 2019 EPA Donald Trump celebrity president: A decade in two halves One of the most significant meetings Trump has held with another leader was with North Korea's Kim Jong Un. In June 2019, Trump became the first sitting president to set foot in North Korea Getty Donald Trump celebrity president: A decade in two halves 2020 will see president Trump fight for a second term in office, who knows what the next decade will bring? Getty

Louie Gohmert, a Republican congressman for Texas, also shouted that the decision was “Stalinesque”.

Mr Nadler said he was postponing the votes so members could “search their consciences” before making a judgement on the articles.

Democrats were frustrated yesterday by what they saw as a “blatant effort” to drag out the hearing, according to CNN congressional correspondent Manu Raju.

“Republicans dragged out today’s mark-up to last 13 hours & force us to vote in the middle of the night,” Debbie Mucarsel-Powell, a Democratic committee member, wrote on Twitter.

“Instead, we will vote tomorrow morning in the light of day in front of the American people.”

Republicans reportedly told members of the committee they would only prolong the hearing until 5pm, CNN said.

“This committee is more concerned about getting on TV in the morning than it was finishing its job tonight and letting the members go home.” Mr Collins complained.

“This was the most bush league thing I have seen, forever.”

Two articles of impeachment have been brought against Mr Trump – one for abuse of power and the other for obstructing Congress.

Both articles are related to allegations that the president withheld congressionally-approved US military aid and a White House visit to Ukraine to force its leader into announcing an investigation into his 2020 election rival Joe Biden.

Although Mr Trump has denied any wrongdoing, several high-profile US diplomats and foreign service officials have testified about their concerns over his behaviour.

Gordon Sondland, the US ambassador to the EU, directly implicated the president in his testimony in November and said senior administration officials, such as secretary of state Mike Pompeo, were aware of a scheme to pressure Ukraine.

“Everyone was in the loop. It was not secret,” Mr Sondland said.