Trump news: House takes major step towards impeachment, as Democrats debate in Houston
Follow the latest updates, as they happened
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.The top 10 Democrats in the presidential race faced each other in yet another 2020 showdown, with Joe Biden and Elizabeth Warren meeting head-to-head for the first time in the primary season.
The debate comes following a busy day in Washington, where the House Judiciary Committee approved a key resolution as it gears up towards potential impeachment of Donald Trump. The resolution has defined the boundaries of a probe that Democrats hope could lead to said impeachment, and potentially his removal from office. The move allows the committee to designate certain hearings as impeachment hearings, and empower staff to question witnesses for a longer period of time.
Mr Trump travelled to Baltimore today for a Republican fundraising event and the House Republican Conference member retreat dinner.
During the debates, Ms Warren and Mr Biden were joined by the likes of Bernie Sanders, Kamala Harris, Beto O'Rourke, Julián Castro, Amy Klobuchar, Cory Booker, Pete Buttigieg, and Andrew Yang.
The debate saw an illustration of their differences on healthcare policy, with Ms Warren and Mr Sanders advocating for Medicare for All, while many of the others advocating for a less aggressive approach.
Mr Trump has a quiet day scheduled for Friday, meeting for an intelligence briefing in the morning, before then meeting with the secretary of Defense in the afternoon.
Follow live updates
Please allow a moment for our liveblog to load
The mood in the press area is steadily building up. No great surprises that people want to see how Biden does under this most intense spotlight, and against the potential onslaught from Elizabeth Warren.
One thing that struck me as fascinating, was a new poll that shows Warren's numbers have been building up in Texas, as well as nationally. Until this point, the general thinking was that Warren might be too progressive for Texas, and that only Biden - or maybe Beto O'Rourke - could really put the state in play in 2020
But the new poll shows Warren's support is growing here too, and that O'Rourke has slipped to third place in his home state. Via the Texas Tribune.
Sharp contrast talking to people here in Houston about O'Rourke, as compared to residents of El Paso
O'Rourke's from El Paso, was the congressman there, and in the aftermath of the Walmart shooting, he spent a lot of time there, not just offering condolences but calling out Trump for his racist language. To people there, he could do not wrong. Folks in Houston appear a lot more skeptical about his ability to push through in the presidential race. They could see him in the Senate, but not the White House.
Worth watching out for tonight is what Andrew Yang does on that stage.
He has made a point of mentioning that his big goal is to get himself next to Joe Biden so folks at home will ask "Who's that Asian guy next to Joe Biden", and his campaign has been teasing a special surprise.
The #YansDebateSurprise is trending on Twitter, and has led to quite a bit of speculation. Will he give everyone in the audience $1,000? Will he crowd surf? Is he going to do magic tricks? Who knows!
But, it's quite entertaining to ponder.
A rather harsh assessment of Ms Warren's latest bit of livestreaming:
Elizabeth Warren's campaign political director forgot her debate snacks tonight:
We are just moments away from the start of the debates -- buckle up everyone!
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments