Trump will face a trial in the Republican-controlled Senate, where he’s likely to be acquitted.

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WASHINGTON — Donald Trump has become the third president in US history to be impeached after the House of Representatives voted Wednesday on two charges against him — abuse of power and obstruction of Congress. The House passed the first charge, accusing Trump of abusing the power of his office, Wednesday evening on a 230–197 vote. The House then passed the second article of impeachment, obstruction of Congress, on a 229–198 vote. The abuse of power article alleges that Trump pressured Ukraine to interfere in the 2020 election by withholding hundreds of millions of dollars in military aid unless the country’s president announced an investigation into former vice president Joe Biden and his family. The obstruction of Congress article is tied to Trump directing executive branch agencies and officials not to comply with congressional subpoenas. Several administration officials subsequently refused to testify during impeachment proceedings. Two Democrats voted against impeaching Trump, Reps. Collin Peterson of Minnesota and Jeff Van Drew of New Jersey, who plans to leave the Democratic Party in the coming days and become a Republican after Trump personally appealed to him. Rep. Jared Golden, a Democrat from Maine, split his vote, voting for the article on abuse of power and against the article on obstruction of Congress. No Republicans voted in favor of impeachment, but Rep. Justin Amash — an independent who left the Republican Party earlier this year after saying Trump had committed “impeachable conduct” — voted with Democrats. Rep. Tulsi Gabbard, a Hawaii Democrat who is running for president, voted "present" on both articles.



Before the votes began Wednesday evening, Rep. Adam Schiff, who as the chair of the House Intelligence Committee oversaw much of the House's impeachment investigation, said, "What is at risk here is the very idea of America."

"If you say the president may refuse to comply, may refuse lawful process, may coerce an ally, may cheat in an election because he's the president of our party, you do not uphold our Constitution. You do not uphold your oath of office," Schiff added. "Well, I will tell you this. I will uphold mine. I will vote to impeach Donald Trump." Trump called the impeachment an “ASSAULT ON AMERICA” in an all-caps tweet earlier in the day Wednesday. White House press secretary Stephanie Grisham said earlier Wednesday Trump would be “working all day,” but would be briefed by staff on the House’s actions “and could catch some of the proceedings between meetings.” At the time of the vote, Trump was speaking at a campaign rally in Battle Creek, Michigan — in Amash's congressional district. "Every single Republican voted for us. ... The Republican party has never been so affronted but they have never been so united as they are right now," Trump said at the rally. "Think of it: Three Democrats went over to our side," he said, seeming to include Golden who voted to impeach Trump, but not on both counts. Amash told BuzzFeed News ahead of the vote that he believed impeachment was “bipartisan" thanks to his vote, adding, "but there are people who do say bipartisan means you have to be in one of the parties, but I’m not a Democrat and I’m not a Republican.”

The Senate will hold a trial on whether to convict Trump of the two articles of impeachment and remove him from office, likely in January. The president is widely expected to be acquitted by the Republican majority, with some senators already calling the outcome a foregone conclusion. But House Democrats said Wednesday it was important to impeach the president, regardless of what the Senate does, to prevent interference in the 2020 election and send a message to Trump and future presidents. “The President cannot be given the perception that Congress doesn't have the courage to do what the Constitution requires and protect the balance of power and let the president know that there are boundaries,” Rep. Al Green told BuzzFeed News ahead of the vote. There are many unresolved questions about what the Senate trial will look like. Democrats and Republicans have not yet reached an agreement on key questions such as whether witnesses will be called to testify.

The House will pick a group of impeachment managers, who will make the case before the Senate that Trump should be removed from office. White House lawyers will serve as defense counsel. Senators play the role of jury while Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts will oversee the trial as judge. A two-thirds vote is required to convict, which would mean 20 Republicans would need to get onboard. So far not one Republican senator has signaled they will vote to convict Trump. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi will not appoint House managers or send the articles of impeachment to the Senate until she sees the proposed rules for a Senate trial, she said Wednesday night following the impeachment vote. The Senate is required to begin its trial once the speaker selects impeachment managers, a high-profile group of lawmakers who will make the House’s case to the Senate during its trial. Pelosi has refused to release any official timeline moving forward, and said at a press conference just off the House floor that withholding the articles has “not been part of our conversation." But, she added, “We’re not sending [the articles] tonight, it’s difficult to determine who the managers will be until we see the arena in which we will be participating." Some House Democrats have reportedly been pushing for her to delay the trial until McConnell agrees to terms for the trial that Democrats believe are fair. Though she would not say exactly what she believed the trial should look like, Pelosi condemned recent remarks McConnell made saying he could not be an impartial juror.

Pelosi said leading up to the vote that it was a somber day and gave her Democratic colleagues a look when some members started to clap after the first article passed Wednesday night.