Donald Trump has become just the third US president in history to be impeached, with the House of Representatives formally charging him with abuse of power and obstruction of Congress.

Key points: Mr Trump will now face trial in the Senate next month

Mr Trump will now face trial in the Senate next month Fifty-three of the Senate's 100 senators are Republican, with 45 Democrats

Fifty-three of the Senate's 100 senators are Republican, with 45 Democrats Only two US presidents have ever been impeached before: Andrew Johnson and Bill Clinton

The Democrat-led House passed the abuse of power article of impeachment largely along party lines, voting 230-197 in favour.

The vote was immediately followed by the second article of impeachment charging him with obstruction of Congress, which was passed 229-198.

The charges relate to Mr Trump's attempts to pressure Ukraine to launch an investigation into his political rival Joe Biden, and his subsequent stonewalling of the House's impeachment inquiry

Mr Trump will now face a trial in the Senate next month, with senators asked to decide on whether to convict him and remove him from office.

As the vote proceeded, Mr Trump was speaking at a rally in Michigan and insisting he had done nothing wrong.

"This lawless, partisan impeachment is a political suicide march for the Democrat Party," Mr Trump told the crowds.

'I'm having a good time, it's crazy'

Space to play or pause, M to mute, left and right arrows to seek, up and down arrows for volume. Watch Duration: 1 minute 49 seconds 1 m 49 s "I'm having a good time, it's crazy": Donald Trump spoke to a rally of supporters in Michigan.

Scheduled weeks before the House vote, the rally was a convenient venue for Mr Trump to address the matter at hand.

He mocked the impeachment process, calling it "impeachment lite" and claiming he was the only president to be impeached with "no crime".

"I don't know about you but I'm having a good time, it's crazy," he said.

Mr Trump also took to Twitter before and after the vote, calling his impeachment "an assault on America".

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He expressed pride that Republicans in the House were united in opposition to impeachment and that three Democrats had also voted against article two.

He said House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Democrats had given themselves an "eternal mark of shame" and said tens of millions of people would show up next year to overturn Democratic control of the House and "vote Pelosi the hell out of office".

"They're the ones who should be impeached, every one of them," he said of Democrats.

There was no sign from supporters in the crowd that their enthusiasm for him had waned as they chanted, "Four more years!"

Mr Trump waited for the House to begin voting before coming on stage to address thousands of cheering supporters, setting up a dramatic split-screen image for television viewers.

What happens next?

The US House of Representatives impeached President Donald Trump on two charges. ( AP: House Television )

The impeachment process is now headed to the US Senate for trial. Fifty-three of the Senate's 100 senators are Republican, with 45 Democrats.

Senate majority leader Mitch McConnell, a close Trump ally, plans a trial in early January and has assured the White House that the necessary 67 votes from the 100-senator chamber will not be there to convict him and remove him from office.

Mr McConnell announced in a tweet that he would be speaking on the Senate floor at 9:30am Thursday (local time) about the impeachment process.

Only two US presidents have ever been impeached before — Andrew Johnson in 1868, who faced 11 articles of impeachment after he sacked the secretary of war, and Bill Clinton in 1998, who faced four articles relating to lying under oath and obstruction of justice.

Richard Nixon resigned before he could be impeached in 1974.

But Mr Trump's impeachment remains a mostly symbolic for now. The practical consequences of impeachment will be decided in the next step.

White House press secretary Stephanie Grisham released a statement after the House vote expressing confidence that Mr Trump would be "fully exonerated."

"Today marks the culmination in the House of one of the most shameful political episodes in the history of our Nation," Ms Grisham said.

"Without receiving a single Republican vote, and without providing any proof of wrongdoing, Democrats pushed illegitimate articles of impeachment against the President through the House of Representatives."

If Mr Trump is acquitted by the Republican-led chamber, as expected, he would still have to run for re-election carrying the enduring mark of impeachment on his presidency.

Trial could be delayed

A majority of the Democrat-dominated House voted to impeach President Trump. ( AP: J. Scott Applewhite )

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said the House may wait to send the articles of impeachment to the Senate Majority Leader, effectively delaying the trial.

Members of both parties complained the whole process was moving too fast and the leading senators exchanged public jabs about the rules of the trial — namely, who could be called as a witness.

Ms Pelosi was non-committal when reporters pressed her for clarification, saying the Democrats have yet to pick their "impeachment managers" who will work on the trial case.

"We can't name managers until we see what the process is on the Senate side and I would hope that would be soon," Ms Pelosi said.

"So far, we haven't seen anything that's looks fair to us."

ABC/wires