WASHINGTON (CN) – President Donald Trump abused the power of his office and obstructed congressional oversight into his misconduct, the Democrat-dominated House of Representatives voted after six hours of bitter debate on Wednesday.
The votes make the 45th president of the United States the third in history to bear the stain of impeachment, paving the way for trial in the Senate.
As two final tallies came down, the responses from Republicans and Democrats in the chamber cut a striking contrast. House Democrats maintained relative quiet following the votes, in keeping with their messaging of the solemnity of the occasion. The Republican side of the House, on the other hand, erupted into howls of boos. The reaction came as little surprise after multiple GOP members likened Trump’s impeachment to Jesus Christ’s crucifixion.
For Democrats, the votes amounted to nothing less than the preservation of the U.S. constitutional order.
“We did not want it, but President Trump's misconduct has forced the constitutional republic to protect itself,” House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer intoned.
The House passed the abuse of power article by a 230-197-1 margin and obstruction of Congress in a 229-198-1 vote. Democratic Representative Tulsi Gabbard of Hawaii, was the sole "present" vote. Representative Justine Amash of Michigan, the only independent, voted for impeachment. Two Democrats broke ranks on the first article and three on the second.
"The votes we are about to take concern the rule of law and democracy itself,” the Maryland Democrat continued later, before quoting the words of John Locke: “Whenever law ends, tyranny begins.”
So marked the culmination of nearly three months of investigation, more than 100 hours of testimony from 17 witnesses, a cavalcade of furious presidential tweets and heated wrangling among seven congressional committees, inexorably leading on Wednesday to the impeachment of President Donald J. Trump, the third officeholder in U.S. history to bear that stain from the House of Representatives.
It was an outcome the president anticipated. Facing an increasingly inevitable fate, Trump exhorted his supporters on Twitter to push for divine intervention.
“This should never happen to another President again,” Trump tweeted this morning. “Say a PRAYER!”
The president moved from prayer to pique as the day wore on. Several hours into the debate, Trump, in his characteristic capital-letters-only emphasis lashed out.
“SUCH ATROCIOUS LIES BY THE RADICAL LEFT, DO NOTHING DEMOCRATS. THIS IS AN ASSAULT ON AMERICA AND AN ASSAULT ON THE DEMOCRATIC PARTY!!!” the president wrote.
Trump’s impeachment falls nearly 21 years to the exact day that the House voted to impeach President Bill Clinton, on Dec. 19, 1998.
As the vote fell just after 8 p.m., Trump began a campaign rally in Michigan.
Once the House delivers the now-approved articles, the Senate must hold trial on whether to remove Trump from office. Much like a traditional trial, there will be jurors. In an impeachment, however, each senator is a juror and the final authority goes to the judge presiding over the trial – in this case, U.S. Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts.
Senate rules require each juror to take the following oath: “I solemnly swear (or affirm) that in all things pertaining to the impeachment of Donald John Trump, now pending, I will do impartial justice according to the Constitution and laws, so help me God.”