House approves Trump impeachment procedures
“The House on Thursday took its first major step toward making Donald Trump just the third president in history to be impeached, approving procedures for an inquiry likely to burst into full public view in weeks.” http://bit.ly/32623Xk
The vote: 232-196, along party lines. Two Democrats voted against it and no Republicans voted in support of the resolution.
^ The two Democrats who voted against the impeachment resolution: Reps. Collin Peterson (D-Minn.) and Jeff Van Drew (D-N.J.), both moderate Democrats who represent districts that President Trump won in 2016. http://bit.ly/2JDAPB4
^ Another notable vote: Rep. Justin Amash (I-Mich.), a vocal Trump critic and independent who left the Republican Party earlier this year.
What exactly the House voted on today: “This vote is not … about whether Trump should be impeached. If that happens, it will come further down the road. Instead, the resolution before the House today is a set of procedures proposed by Democratic leaders for how the impeachment inquiry will function going forward.” Full explanation from Vox: http://bit.ly/2WAmTNp
Livestream of the House vote: http://bit.ly/2qc1JZH
By the way, it’s important that Nancy Pelosi presided: Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) presided over the first House floor impeachment vote, showing the importance of the measure. “Historically, the Speaker of the House only closes votes during significant bills and resolutions in the lower chamber.” http://bit.ly/
