President Donald Trump was impeached for abuse of power in a historic vote in the House of Representatives on Wednesday, setting up a Senate trial on removing him from office after three turbulent years, news agency AFP reported.
While the House impeached Trump for abuse of power by a 230-197 vote, it voted 230 to 197 against him for obstruction of Congress, making him the third occupant of the White House in American history to be impeached.
Democrats said they had "no choice" but to formally charge the Republican president, whose impeachment along stark party lines places an indelible stain on his record while driving a spike ever deeper into the US political divide. "What is at risk here is the very idea of America," said Adam Schiff, the lawmaker who headed the impeachment inquiry, ahead of the vote. Trump will now stand trial in the Senate, where his Republicans hold a solid majority and are expected to exonerate him.
Trump will now face a trial in the Senate, where Republicans have a majority and removal from office is unlikely.
Here are the live updates of Donald Trump's impeachment in US House of Representatives:
Today marks the culmination in the House of one of the most shameful political episodes in the history of our Nation. Without a single Republican vote or any proof of wrongdoing, Democrats pushed illegitimate articles of impeachment through the House of Representatives.
- The White House (@WhiteHouse) December 19, 2019
