Trump impeachment: House impeaches president in historic vote along party lines
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The House has voted to impeach Donald Trump, making him the third president in American history to receive such a censure.
After roughly eight hours of debate, the House of Representatives gathered to vote and ultimately charged him with abusing the power of his office by attempting to extort a political favour from Ukraine. The House then voted on a second article of impeachment, approving formal charges that Mr Trump had obstructed Congress during the subsequent congressional investigation into his conduct.
The Senate will now take up the approved impeachment articles in the new year.
Defiant as ever, Mr Trump walked onstage at a rally in Michigan just as the House began voting — and was bragging about his Space Force and mocking stock market jitters as the first article of impeachement was approved. Before it became official, as the vote crept towards approving the first article of impeachment, Mr Trump was interrupted by a protester, who he suggested was treated too well by security forces — and that they should have been tougher on her.
Before the vote and rally, Washington Post columnist David Ignatius described a letter sent by Mr Trump to House speaker Nancy Pelosi on Tuesday as “the most unpresidential presidential document ever written” on MSNBC’s Morning Joe after rallies backing the impeachment process were held in cities across the country on Tuesday evening.
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Ms Maloney: "He seeks to place himself above the Constitution, and above the law. We cannot let that stand."
She warns that the US has "allowed president Trump to elevate himself above the law."
Here's an small roadmap of what is to come. Right after the impeachment vote, we're expecting a press conference with House minority leader Kevin McCarthy.
Then, about a half-hour later, we'll hear from Nancy Pelosi during a press conference for Democrats in a different room.
As House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer makes closing remarks, Republicans are groaning and booing at every opportunity. It’s a level of disrespect I’ve never seen in this chamber.
Republican leader Kevin McCarthy and whip Steve Scalise are laughing about something. Not sure what.
More laughter can be heard coming from the Republican cloakroom.
"There is one person who has spoken today who is neither a member of the Democratic Party nor the Republican Party. His name is Justin Amash," said Mr Hoyer.
"He left the Republican party and in doing so he admonished his colleagues that, quote: This president will only be in power for a short time but excusing his behavior will forever tarnish your name."
Mr Hoyer is encouraging his colleagues to "look into" their "soul" for tonight's vote on impeachment.
Doug Collins is currently on the floor, delivering a lengthy speech claiming Democrats are "trashing" the rules of the House, and threatening that things will not be pretty when Republicans take back control of the chamber.
Votes are expected very soon on Mr Trump's impeachment.
Kevin McCarthy is now on the floor.
"I must warn you I am about to say something my Democratic colleagues hate to hear. Donald J Trump is president of the United States," he said, to Republican applause.
"He is president today, he will be president tomorrow, and he will be president when this impeachment is over."
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