Trump impeachment: What time is the vote?
Wednesday will be a historic day.
The House will vote to impeach a president of the United States for only the third time in history. It‘s been a tumultuous journey to get to this point and is sure to lead to blockbuster moments.
Here is a schedule for the big day. You can also watch a livestream of the events at politico.com or follow our journalists on Twitter.
What time is the impeachment vote?
The House gathered to begin debating on two articles of impeachment at roughly 9 a.m. Members have had more than six hours of debate, and the final vote is predicted to take place shortly after 8 p.m.
What will Trump be doing?
President Donald Trump says he will not be closely watching the impeachment proceedings, calling the process a “hoax.” He has a rally in Battle Creek, Mich., tonight, and it will probably be a wild one. Trump often expresses his most unfiltered views in the wake of major rebukes to his presidency. POLITICO’s Gabby Orr will be on the ground covering the rally at 7 p.m.
What next?
If the House votes to impeach the president (as it has indicated it will), the Senate will take up the case. Each senator will serve as a juror and Chief Justice John Roberts will preside. That means the five senators currently running for the Democratic presidential nomination will have to return from the campaign trail to determine whether to remove Trump from office.
Impeachment managers — members of the House selected by Speaker Nancy Pelosi — will present the articles of impeachment and serve as prosecutors in the case.
When would a Senate trial occur?
Senate leaders indicated they‘d wait until after the New Year to begin a trial. And they‘re having difficulty setting out the terms.
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer has proposed to simultaneously agree to witnesses with Republicans, but Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell vehemently rejected the proposition as a “strange request.“ The two sides still aim to sit down together to flesh out how the trial will be run — a process the Constitution has left vague.
The Senate needs a supermajority — two-thirds — to convict Trump and remove him from office. As of now, it seems extremely unlikely that will happen.
