Democrats secure votes to go on with impeachment
The US House of Representatives yesterday voted to move forward its impeachment inquiry into Donald Trump, putting a congressional stamp on the bid to remove him from office.
The House, where the Democrats hold the majority, voted 232 to 196 on a resolution that outlined the process for how the investigation will progress.
It is the first time in 21 years that the House has backed an impeachment inquiry, something that only three other US presidents have ever faced.
The vote split down party lines, with every Republican opposing the resolution and all but two Democrats voting for it.
The result means that the impeachment inquiry will enter a public phase, with open hearings to take place with key witnesses in the Ukraine scandal.
It will also give both Republican and Democrat members the chance to question those people giving testimony while the nation watches.
The resolution was a response to fierce criticism from Republicans, including from Trump, about the behind-closeddoors nature of the probe.
It is also a symbolic and historic moment, the first time the House has voted on this impeachment inquiry into Trump.
Andrew Johnson, Richard Nixon and Bill Clinton also faced their own impeachment inquiries.
The White House immediately released a statement condemning the vote, indicating it will not change its stance of non-co-operation.
Stephanie Grisham, Trump’s press secretary, said the US president had done ‘‘nothing wrong’’ and criticised the Democrats’"unhinged obsession’’ with getting rid of him.
‘‘The Democrats want to render a verdict without giving the administration a chance to mount a defence. That is unfair, unconstitutional, and fundamentally unAmerican,’’ she said. Moments after the vote, Trump wrote on Twitter: ‘‘The greatest witch hunt in American history!’’ The inquiry, which is investigating whether Trump committed ‘‘high crimes and misdemeanours’’ by urging Ukraine to investigate his political rival Joe Biden, had been running for 37 days.
It was launched by the Democrats without a House vote.
Biden, the former US vice president, is one of the front-runners to win the Democratic presidential nomination for the 2020 election. The winner will face Trump next November.
The Democratic leadership will be pleased that all but two of its members backed the resolution. Around a third of House Democrats had been against such a move a few months ago.
The two Democrats who voted against were Collin Peterson, of Minnesota, and Jeff Van Drew, of New Jersey.
Both represent districts that voted for Trump in 2016.
However, the White House will take heart from the fact that not a single Republican member backed the resolution.
One independent member, Justin Amash, of Michigan, voted for the resolution. He was a Republican but left the party in July after repeatedly clashing with the leadership.
The debate on the floor of the House yesterday emphasised the wide gap between Republicans and Democrats.
Nancy Pelosi, the Democratic House speaker, spoke from in front of an American flag as she urged her colleagues to vote to move forward with the impeachment.
‘‘What is at stake in all of this is nothing less than our democracy. I proudly stand next to the flag,’’ Pelosi said. ‘‘So many have fought and died for this flag.’’
Kevin McCarthy, the top Republican member in the House, said that Democrats were pushing impeachment in an attempt to ‘‘influence’’ next year’s presidential election. ‘‘Democrats are trying to impeach the president because they are scared they cannot defeat him at the ballot box,’’ he said.