House is set to vote on impeachment

Lawmakers are expected to vote by this evening on two charges against President Trump: abuse of power and obstruction of Congress. Here’s what to expect:

The House Rules Committee voted on Tuesday to allow six total hours of debate on the floor, divided equally among Republicans and Democrats.

Republicans are expected to use parliamentary procedures to try to slow the process, but the time limit means they’re unlikely to make much difference.

Separate votes on the impeachment articles are expected in the early evening.

A majority of House members support impeachment, largely along party lines. Here’s where every lawmaker stands.

If the House approves the articles, Mr. Trump would become the third president in U.S. history to be impeached.

Yesterday: Mr. Trump denounced the process as an “illegal, partisan attempted coup” in a letter to Speaker Nancy Pelosi. Read the letter, which The Times fact-checked.

What’s next: If Mr. Trump is impeached, the Senate could decide to remove him from office, though such an outcome is highly unlikely. Senators take an oath during an impeachment trial to “do impartial justice,” but Senator Mitch McConnell, the Republican majority leader, said on Tuesday that he had no obligation to be impartial.

Background: Four Times journalists who covered the impeachment trial of President Bill Clinton in 1998 discussed how that period echoes today.