 |
On Politics | IMPEACHMENT. 2020 ELECTION. WASHINGTON. AND MORE FROM THE POLITICS WORLD. | Wednesday, December 18 | | |
| |
| |
| |
| |
| They came, they spoke, they voted. |
| It's a historic day for America: The Democrat-led House of Representatives voted to impeach President Donald Trump, formally charging him with "high crimes and misdemeanors" over his request to Ukraine to investigate a political rival. |
| Trump is just the third president in U.S. history to be impeached. He now faces a trial in the Republican-controlled Senate, expected to begin in mid-January, which could vote to convict and remove him from office. |
| Regardless of your politics, this sure has been a journey, readers. Let's break it down. |
What happened? |
| Democrat and Republican lawmakers regularly borrowed the words of America's Founding Fathers in justifying their position for or against the impeachment of Trump on Wednesday. They debated the two articles (abuse of power and obstruction of Congress) for more than six hours and then voted separately on each of them. The votes ended up falling mostly along partisan lines: |
| • | Every Democrat voted for the first article except Reps. Jefferson Van Drew of New Jersey and Collin Peterson of Minnesota. Rep. Jared Golden of Maine joined Van Drew and Peterson as the only Democrats to vote against the second article, obstruction of Congress. Rep. Tulsi Gabbard, D-Hawaii, voted "present" instead of "yes" to both. | | • | Every Republican voted against both articles. The House's lone independent, former Republican Justin Amash of Michigan, voted with the Democrats to impeach Trump on both charges. | |
| As you can imagine, the lead-up to the House vote was memorable and included passionate - and often quotable - moments. What everyone is talking about: |
| • | Dressed in black and wearing a brooch of the Mace of the Republic, which symbolizes the authority of the House, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi gave the opening statement: "If we do not act now, we would be derelict in our duty. It's tragic the president's reckless actions make impeachment necessary. He gave us no choice." | | • | Leading off the GOP rebuttal, Georgia Rep. Doug Collins said the Founding Fathers were concerned about a partisan impeachment process in which the majority could do what it wants. "This is not a solemn occasion. When you go looking for something for three years ... you ought to be excited when you found it," Collins said. | | • | Rep. Tulsi Gabbard, D-Hawaii, voted "present" instead of "yes" for impeaching Trump on both articles of impeachment. Gabbard is running for the Democratic nomination to take Trump on in 2020. Her vote, or lack thereof, is notable as she is the only candidate to not support impeachment. | | • | Then there were the, um, less consequential viral moments. The word "irregardless" was trending, for example, after Collins said it on the House floor during the debate. | | • | Read all the top moments here. | |
| And we'd be remiss to mention where President Donald Trump was during all of this. In a historic split-screen moment, Trump blasted Democrats from a Battle Creek, Michigan, campaign rally at the same time as the vote. "This lawless partisan impeachment is a political suicide march for the Democrat Party," he told the crowd. "Have you seen my polls in the last four weeks?" |
What it all means |
| The repercussions of Wednesday's events will be neither narrow in impact nor quickly finished, USA TODAY Washington Bureau Chief Susan Page explains in her analysis. For just the third time in history, and for the first time in a generation, the House voted to impeach the president, almost entirely along party lines. Now, just about everybody involved expects Trump to be acquitted by the Republican-controlled Senate. |
| The two people at the center of it all? Trump and Pelosi. Digging deeper into what this means for this moment in America's legacy, Page writes: |
| • | Trump now finds himself in uncharted political territory, the only impeached president who has been in his first term and running for re-election. As the House debate was coming to a close, his campaign blasted an email with an appeal for donations to the "Official Pre-Vote Impeachment Defense Fund." GOP aides say impeachment has boosted fundraising and energized core supporters, though the impact on swing voters isn't yet clear. | | • | Pelosi's prospects to win an 18th term in her liberal San Francisco district aren't imperiled by impeachment, but it could be a different story for the 31 House Democrats who represent districts that Trump carried in 2016. Republicans already are targeting them; their defeat could cost Democrats control of the House, and with that eject Pelosi from the speaker's chair. | |
| More context, thanks to history: |
| |
Opinions ... everyone has them |
| Here are some views on the impeachment expressed from various viewpoints in USA TODAY's Opinion section. |
| |
| What do you think? Want to talk about it and share your own opinion? Join USA TODAY's politics Facebook group, where members participate in moderated discussions about the day's news. |
| As always, thank you for being a part of the news with us, and for engaging in the first draft of history. Please forward this newsletter on, or send this sign-up page to friends and family. |
| - Until tomorrow, OnPolitics readers |
| |
| MOST SHARED USA TODAY ARTICLES |
| |
| |
| |
No comments:
Post a Comment