House Of Representatives Votes To Impeach US President Donald Trump

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House Speaker Nancy Pelosi presided over the historic vote to impeach President Donald Trump (Credit: Wikipedia.org/Public domain)

On Wednesday, December 18, 2019, members of the US House of Representatives voted to impeach President Donald Trump on two charges — abuse of power (230-197) and obstruction of Congress (229-198). The historic decision culminates a three-month inquiry by House Democrats into whether or not the US leader pressured Ukraine to conduct investigations for his personal political benefit. However, the impeachment process is far from over. Here is how we got to this moment and what to expect next.

The events leading to the House impeachment

The December 18 House vote ends the three-month long impeachment decision, which began in September 2019 (Credit: impeachment101.com)

The impeachment inquiry stemmed from a whistleblower's allegations that on July 25, 2019, President Trump asked Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to look into the business ties of 2020 Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden's son, Hunter. To try to persuade the foreign leader, the US president allegedly withheld the nearly $400 million in federal military aid that Congress and the Defense Department had approved for Ukraine in early 2019. Though the funding was released on September 11, 2019, Democrats maintain that withholding the aid, even for a few months, was an abuse of presidential powers. Members of President Trump's Republican party, however, assert there was no wrongdoing, since the money was eventually given.

What happens next?

The impeachment proceedings will end after the Senate votes on the charges (Credit:impeachment101.com)

The US Constitution stipulates that an impeachment vote by the House is just the first step toward removing a sitting president from office. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif) will now present the "articles of impeachment" to the Senate to start a trial, in which "impeachment managers" from the House will present their case against the president to Senate members, who will act as the jury. To ensure a fair trial, the proceedings will be overseen by US Chief Justice John Roberts.

However, though the Constitution clearly outlines the impeachment process, the rules on how a Senate trial should be conducted are unclear. Hence, before the trial begins, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) will get together to determine important details. This includes whether to allow witnesses to testify, what evidence can be admitted, and how long the trial should be. Once the two leaders come to a mutual agreement, the rules will be put to vote in the Senate. If a majority of the members agree, a start date for the trial will be announced. Once the proceedings begin, the senators, all under an oath of impartiality, will work for six days a week until they reach a decision on the "articles of impeachment" presented by the House.

What is the estimated timeline for the decision?

Though it is unclear how long the trial will last, both Republicans and Democrats alike have expressed an interest in keeping it short. That certainly has been the case with trials of the two other presidents who faced a similar situation. President Andrew Jackson's Senate trial in 1868 lasted just about nine weeks, while President Bill Clinton's trial in 1998 lasted only five weeks.

How might it end?

Former president Bill Clinton was cleared of all charges after a five-week-long Senate impeachment trial (Credit: Gerald R. Ford Presidential Museum /Public domain)

To garner a conviction, two-thirds of the senators have to vote in favor of the "articles of impeachment." If that happens, President Trump will have to resign as the country's leader and Vice President Michael Pence will take over.

What has happened to past presidents facing a similar situation?

The US Senate has never removed a president from office. While President Andrew Jackson narrowly missed impeachment after the Senate votes fell one short of the two-thirds needed to convict, the votes against President Clinton fell far short of the majority needed. President Richard Nixon, who faced an impeachment inquiry in 1974, resigned from office before he could be impeached.

Resources: CNN.com, Telegraph.co.uk, Washingtonpost.com

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48 Comments
  • chloecat
    chloecatover 4 years
    He deserves it
  • chloecat
    chloecatover 4 years
    Why can't they just impeach him already
  • legaciesgirl
    legaciesgirlalmost 5 years
    I don't think Trump should be impeached he has done a lot of good stuff
  • ada4
    ada4almost 5 years
    You know parents talk about this stuff and......... but it wasn't bad for this to happen and it wasn't good either i mean it's your opinion on politics that's what my parents say about Donald Trump
    • ligman
      ligmanalmost 5 years
      what did he do wrong
    • tommyboi
      tommyboialmost 5 years
      Funny how democrats are not aware of all the things he has done for our country such as created 6 million jobs, cut welfare, and defeated the leader of isis. Besides impeachment does not mean removal of office
      • dc273098
        dc273098over 4 years
        hey "smart mouth" u heard what he did to veterans money and the people in syria hes tested drugs on innocent people in syria yet people still praise him like he is the leader of everything 9yr old,
      • africangoat
        africangoatalmost 5 years
        i knew that one day they would do this
        • pm-olm
          pm-olmalmost 5 years
          I was kinda thinking that this would happen.
          • rgleason16
            rgleason16almost 5 years
            Fun times we live in (lol)
            • swapfellsans
              swapfellsansalmost 5 years
              On I kinda expected this to happen