US House impeaches Trump

US President Donald Trump on Wednesday became the third president to be impeached since the adoption of the Constitution in 1788.

The Democratic-controlled House of Representatives impeached the 45th president on two articles: abuse of power and obstruction of Congress. The vote on abuse of power was 230-197. On obstruction of Congress, the tally was 229-198.

All Republicans voted against both articles. Two Democrats, Collin Peterson of Minnesota, and Jeff Van Drew of New Jersey, who will switch parties, voted against the abuse of power charge.

The only difference in the vote on the obstruction count was Democrat Jared Golden of Maine voting no.

Tulsi Gabbard of Hawaii, a Democratic candidate for president, voted present on both articles.

Three members of Congress－one Democrat and two Republicans－did not vote. Also, four seats in the 435-member House are vacant, so the simple majority needed to impeach on both articles was 215.

The 73-year-old Republican now joins Andrew Johnson and Bill Clinton as the only presidents to be impeached. Johnson was impeached in 1868, and Clinton in 1999. Both Democrats were acquitted in Senate trials, and the Republican-led US Senate is expected to acquit Trump.

The House vote was the culmination of months of investigation into whether the president pressured the government of Ukraine to announce investigations that would benefit him politically, including a probe into a company that employed the son of former vice-president Joe Biden, one of the president's chief rivals in his 2020 reelection bid.

Trump addressed a "Merry Christmas Rally" in Battle Creek, Michigan, on Wednesday evening, speaking in a congressional district represented by Justin Amash－a Republican-turned-independent congressman－who voted for both articles.

"It doesn't really feel like we're being impeached," Trump said at the rally after the vote. "The country is doing better than ever before. We did nothing wrong. We have tremendous support in the Republican Party like we've never had before."

Before the House took up the charges against him, the president turned to Twitter on Wednesday morning:

"Can you believe that I will be impeached today by the Radical Left, Do Nothing Democrats, AND I DID NOTHING WRONG! A terrible Thing. Read the Transcripts. This should never happen to another President again. Say a PRAYER!"

White House counselor Kellyanne Conway told reporters that Trump doesn't see impeachment as a "stain" on his legacy.

"We're not fine with the impeachment. We think it's ridiculous... but it's preordained. It's a conclusion in search of evidence," she added.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi began the chamber's consideration of the two charges by appealing to every member of the House to uphold their oaths to "protect and defend" the Constitution.

Democrats and Republicans then rose to argue for and against the president's impeachment in an eight-hour debate divided equally between both parties that ran past 8 pm local time.

Many Democrats asserted that Trump's actions had put at risk the integrity of the 2020 election and the country itself.

Republicans lashed out at the charges, saying there was no proof of wrongdoing and that Democrats wanted impeachment because they won't win at the ballot box in 2020.

In the Senate, where the trial is expected to begin next month, Majority Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky said on Wednesday that Democrats were poised to "misuse the solemn process of impeachment to blow off partisan steam".