The House Judiciary Committee approved two articles of impeachment against President Donald Trump: abuse of power and obstruction of Congress.
The vote came out to 23-17. The House will vote on the articles next week before they head to the Senate.
Chairman Jerry Nadler caused Republicans to explode on Thursday when he postponed the vote until today. The committee finished hearings yesterday after 14 hours. He chose the delay just before midnight.
Nadler explained he wanted members of the committee “to think about what has happened over these past two days, and to search their conscience before we cast their final votes.”
Democrats have insisted that “Trump is undermining national security and the integrity of the 2020 election.” Their argument stems from a phone call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on July 25 where he suggested a look into Vice President Joe Biden.
Republicans pointed out the articles have nothing to do with their first accusations against Trump, which included bribery and extortion.
From Fox News:
That led to Republicans decrying what they called a “bush-league stunt” by Nadler to make sure the vote would be carried on daytime television.”Mr. Chairman, there was no consulting with the ranking member on your schedule for tomorrow — you just blew up schedules for everyone?” Rep. Doug Collins, R-Ga., said. “You chose not to consult the ranking member on a scheduling issue of this magnitude? This is the kangaroo court we’re talking about.”
Despite Nadler’s explanation, voting only took 15 minutes this morning.
The Democrats control the House, but 31 Democrats represent districts that voted for Trump in 2016. Polls have shown impeachment has not swayed many voters:
In a poll released by Monmouth University on Wednesday, 45% said Mr. Trump should be impeached and convicted, while half of Americans opposed Mr. Trump’s removal from office.Signs are also emerging that impeachment could pose a challenge for Democrats in some battleground states in the 2020 presidential election. A Marquette University poll of Wisconsin voters released on Thursday found that during the first week of December, 52% of voters thought Mr. Trump shouldn’t be impeached, compared with 40% who thought he should.
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