WASHINGTON: A bitterly divided House of Representatives voted Thursday to endorse the Democratic-led impeachment inquiry into President Trump, in a historic action that set up a critical new public phase of the investigation and underscored the political polarization that serves as its backdrop.
The vote was 232 to 196 to approve a resolution that sets out rules for an impeachment process for which there are few precedents, and which promises to consume the country a little more than a year before the 2020 elections. It was only the third time in modern history that the House had taken a vote on an impeachment inquiry into a sitting president.
Having resisted such a vote for months, Democrats muscled through their resolution over unanimous Republican opposition with only two of their members breaking ranks to vote no. The tally foreshadowed the battle to come as Democrats take their case against the president fully into public view, sending both parties into uncharted territory and reshaping the nation’s political landscape.
On the House floor, Speaker Nancy Pelosi presided over the vote in an unusually packed chamber, after a debate that was fraught with the weight of the moment. Ms. Pelosi read from the preamble of the Constitution, a picture of the American flag by her side, and declared somberly, “What is at stake in all of this is nothing less than our democracy.”
Representative Kevin McCarthy, Republican of California and the minority leader, quoted Alexander Hamilton, who warned in the Federalist papers against impeachment as a partisan tool. Lawmakers listened from their seats, stone-faced and somber, while members of the public watched from the crowded gallery above.
“We don’t know whether President Trump is going to be impeached but the allegations are as serious as it gets: endangering national security for political gain,” Representative Jim McGovern of Massachusetts, the chairman of the House Rules Committee, thundered from the House floor, adding, “History is testing us.”
Minutes after the vote, Stephanie Grisham, the White House press secretary, denounced what she said was “a sham impeachment” and “a blatantly partisan attempt to destroy the president.” In a statement, she added, “The president has done nothing wrong and the Democrats know it.”
Mr. Trump weighed in on Twitter: “The Greatest Witch Hunt In American History!”
The day was a stunning turn in a drama that has riveted Capitol Hill, and the nation, since Ms. Pelosi announced last month that House Democrats would begin an impeachment investigation into whether Mr. Trump abused his power to pressure Ukraine to smear his political rivals, declaring that he had betrayed his oath of office.
(Courtesy New York Times)
