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Trump faces impeachment as House convenes to debate historic vote – live Trump faces impeachment as House convenes to debate historic vote – live
(32 minutes later)
Outcome of today’s vote is all but certain as Trump lashes against Democrats and acknowledges likely impeachmentOutcome of today’s vote is all but certain as Trump lashes against Democrats and acknowledges likely impeachment
Walking to the House floor, Nancy Pelosi would only tell reporters she felt “sad” about today’s proceedings, echoing reports that the speaker has intstructed her Democratic caucus to treat today as a solemn occasion.
The sadness of today’s vote may be the only point of agreement between House Democrats and Republicans, as Tom Cole, the top Republican on the rules committee, made a similar comment on the floor.
The Republican minority whip, Steve Scalise, tried to raise a point of order, but Diana DeGette, the Democratic congresswoman presiding over today’s debate, ruled it to be out of order.
Debate has now begun on the “rule” establishing procedures for today’s impeachment proceedings.
Congressman Jim McGovern, the Democratic chairman of the House rules committee, has introduced the “rule” that will establish parameters for debate on the impeachment resolution.
House members will now have an hour to debate the rule before voting on the proposal, so it’s looking like an 11 a.m. E.T. vote before discussion can turn to the impeachment resolution itself.
The motion to table Kevin McCarthy’s resolution condemning Adam Schiff and Jerry Nadler has succeeded, hopefully clearing the way (finally) for an hour of debate on the procedures for today.
True to form, the House of representatives is already behind schedule for today’s impeachment proceedings.
The optimistic estimate that the final vote on articles of impeachment would take place by 7:30 p.m. E.T. is feeling more unlikely by the minute.
The Democratic majority leader, Steny Hoyer, has now introduced a motion to table Kevin McCarthy’s resolution condemning Adam Schiff and Jerry Nadler for their handling of the impeachment inquiry, triggering another 15-minute vote.
It appears Republicans are trying to delay the inevitable for as long as possible in the hope of forcing Democrats to take some uncomfortable votes before the all-important vote on articles of impeachment later tonight.
These procedural motions could disrupt the optimistic timeline of concluding today’s proceedings by 7:30 p.m. E.T., but they will not affect the end result. The day will end in Trump’s impeachment no matter how many technical maneuvers Republicans deploy.
Kevin McCarthy is calling for a vote on a resolution condemning the Democratic chairmen of the intelligence and judiciary committees, Adam Schiff and Jerry Nadler, for their handling of the impeachment inquiry. This will also be rejected by the Democratic majority.Kevin McCarthy is calling for a vote on a resolution condemning the Democratic chairmen of the intelligence and judiciary committees, Adam Schiff and Jerry Nadler, for their handling of the impeachment inquiry. This will also be rejected by the Democratic majority.
Well, not so fast. The Republican minority leader, Kevin McCarthy, is now offering a parliamentary question before the House begins debating the rules for today’s proceedings.Well, not so fast. The Republican minority leader, Kevin McCarthy, is now offering a parliamentary question before the House begins debating the rules for today’s proceedings.
The Republican motion to adjourn before taking up the articles of impeachment has been defeated, clearing the way for debate to begin on the procedures for today’s historic proceedings.The Republican motion to adjourn before taking up the articles of impeachment has been defeated, clearing the way for debate to begin on the procedures for today’s historic proceedings.
House judiciary committee chairman Jerry Nadler is on the floor today, having returned from a last-minute trip to New York yesterday to attend to a family medical emergency.House judiciary committee chairman Jerry Nadler is on the floor today, having returned from a last-minute trip to New York yesterday to attend to a family medical emergency.
Nadler’s absence from Washington yesterday meant that congressman Jamie Raskin, a former constitutional law professor, presented the Democrats’ argument for impeachment before the House rules committee.Nadler’s absence from Washington yesterday meant that congressman Jamie Raskin, a former constitutional law professor, presented the Democrats’ argument for impeachment before the House rules committee.
A House Democratic aide provided more context on why congresswoman Diana DeGette, a Colorado Democrat who has served since 1997, is presiding over today’s debate.A House Democratic aide provided more context on why congresswoman Diana DeGette, a Colorado Democrat who has served since 1997, is presiding over today’s debate.
Democratic congresswoman Diana DeGette is currently presiding over the House proceedings, but speaker Nancy Pelosi will take over when members vote on the articles of impeachment later tonight.
Pelosi will also deliver a floor speech tonight, which is a rarity for House speakers.
Once the motion to adjourn is defeated, House members will likely begin one hour of debate on the procedures adopted by the rules committee to set parameters for today’s proceedings.
As expected, House Republicans have put forth a motion to adjourn before considering the articles of impeachment, which will almost certainly be defeated.
The House has now convened for today’s proceedings, which will conclude with final votes on the two articles of impeachment against Trump.
House Republicans are expected to introduce a number of procedural motions, which could delay the final vote, but Democrats will be able to defeat those proposals with their majority power.
The House will convene in about 10 minutes to begin today’s proceedings, which will include several hours of debate on the impeachment resolution, but protesters have already gathered on Capitol Hill.
Congressman Adam Schiff, the chairman of the House intelligence committee who has been intensely criticized by Trump and his allies, encouraged his colleagues to “honor their oath” in today’s impeachment vote.
Nancy Pelosi has designated Democratic congresswoman Diana DeGette to serve as speaker pro tempore and preside over the House debate on the impeachment resolution.
DeGette, a Colorado lawmaker who has served in the House since 1997, said of the honor, “This is a sad and somber moment in our nation’s history and the responsibility to preside over this important debate is something I will not take lightly.”
Following a marathon hearing yesterday, the House rules committee adopted debate procedures for today’s impeachment vote, which will likely not be finalized until this evening.
According to the rules passed by the committee, House members will have six hours to debate the impeachment resolution, split evenly between the majority and the minority.
The House is set to start today’s business at 9 a.m. E.T., but they have to take care of some housekeeping and formally adopt the rules before debating the actual impeachment resolution.
Assuming everything runs on time, which is a hefty assumption where the House of representatives is concerned, the final vote could come sometime between 6:30 and 7:30 p.m. E.T.
Trump is scheduled to start his campaign rally in Battle Creek, Michigan, at 7 p.m. E.T., which means he could be on stage when he becomes only the third president in US history to be impeached.
Trump has nothing on his public schedule today until he leaves for a Michigan campaign rally at 4.25 pm ET., and the president is already lashing out against his critics over Twitter.
Trump acknowledged the House would almost certainly impeach him, but he insisted he had done “NOTHING WRONG” and warned of the effect today’s vote would have on future presidents. “Say a PRAYER!” Trump wrote.
The request for his supporters to pray for the country is noteworthy, given that Trump sent a letter to Nancy Pelosi yesterday criticizing the House speaker for saying, “I pray for the President all the time.”
“Even worse than offending the Founding Fathers, you are offending Americans of faith by continually saying you pray for the President when you know this statement is not true, unless it is meant in a negative sense,” Trump wrote in his furious letter.
Good morning, live blog readers!
We have arrived. Today, the House of Representatives is expected to impeach Donald Trump, making him only the third president in US history to receive this ignoble honor.
The outcome of today’s House vote is all but certain, as a majority of members have said they intend to vote in favor of impeachment.
However, once they do, the case will move on to the Republican-controlled Senate, where Trump has already been guaranteed a much more favorable audience. Senate majority leader Mitch McConnell said yesterday he would not be an “impartial juror” in the trial to determine whether to remove Trump from office, calling impeachment a “political process.”
Even though the Senate trial will likely end in acquittal, nearly all the House Democrats from more conservative districts have said they plan to vote “yes” today, framing the issue as a matter of duty.
Democratic congresswoman Elissa Slotkin, whose Michigan district backed Trump by 7 points in 2016, wrote in an op-ed earlier this week, “Over the past few months, I’ve been told more times that I can count that the vote I’ll be casting this week will mark the end of my short political career. That may be.
”But in the national security world that I come from, we are trained to make hard calls on things, even if they are unpopular, if we believe the security of the country is at stake. There are some decisions in life that have to be made based on what you know in your bones is right. And this is one of those times.”