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President Trump Impeached for Abuse of Power & Obstruction of Congress

HeadlineDec 19, 2019

In a historic vote Wednesday, the House of Representatives impeached President Trump, marking only the third time in U.S. history that a president has been impeached. This is House Speaker Nancy Pelosi opening the impeachment debate on the House floor Wednesday.

Speaker Nancy Pelosi: “Our Founders’ vision of a republic is under threat from actions from the White House. That is why today, as speaker of the House, I solemnly and sadly open the debate on the impeachment of the president of the United States. If we do not act now, we would be derelict in our duty. It is tragic that the president’s reckless actions make impeachment necessary. He gave us no choice.”

Lawmakers voted 230 to 197 in favor of the first article of impeachment against Trump: abuse of power. They voted 229 to 198 in favor of the second article of impeachment against the president: obstruction of Congress. The two articles center on how President Trump withheld military aid from Ukraine to pressure the Ukrainian president to investigate Trump’s political rival, Joe Biden, and then how Trump tried to cover up his actions. Following the votes, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said she would hold the articles back from being sent to the Senate until Democrats were convinced the trial would be fair. Senate Majority Leader Republican Mitch McConnell has said he is not an “impartial juror” and that he would closely coordinate a Senate impeachment trial with the White House Counsel’s Office, leading Democrats to accuse McConnell of trying to preside over a sham trial. Click here for more on the historic impeachment vote.

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