The House Just Voted to Formalize Trump’s Impeachment Investigation
In a narrow count that came down to just 36 votes, the House of Representatives voted to continue with the Democratic-led impeachment investigation into President Donald Trump on Thursday.
The vote was 232-196 in favor of approving a resolution that sets out rules for an impeachment process that remains complex and mystifying to even the most devoted scholars of American history; after all, there’s limited precedent, with only two U.S. presidents, Johnson and Clinton, being formally impeached during their time in office. (Contrary to popular belief, Nixon wasn’t actually impeached; he voluntarily resigned.)
Thursday’s vote only went as far as establishing these rules, but its significance is still massive; in addition to representing a major win for Democrats, the clear-cut nature of the impeachment process rules suggest that Republicans will have a difficult time challenging the process on procedure alone.
If you’re confused about how, exactly, we got all the way to impeachment, remember that after Trump allegedly attempted to pressure the president of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelensky, to investigate former vice president and current Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden and his son Hunter, a multitude of Democrats—including Pelosi and former Vice President Joe Biden—came forward to say they would support an impeachment investigation.
As far as next steps go, Intelligence Committee hearings are scheduled for the week of November 11, at which time Democrats will make available what the New York Times describes as “key witnesses who have already provided testimony out of public view.”
Then, per today’s resolution, the Intelligence Committee will be required to present a public report of its findings and share any evidence collected with the Judiciary Committee. Then, lawmakers from both parties will examine that evidence to reach a conclusion about whether or not Trump should be removed from office.
The House vote may have been a boon to Democrats, but the question of whether Trump will actually be removed from office is a more difficult one; Democrats would need a two-thirds majority in the Senate to remove Trump, and since not a single Republican cast a vote in favor of an impeachment process, that goal may be hard to reach.
Originally Appeared on Vogue
