WASHINGTON — Democrats swept a rules package for their impeachment probe of President Donald Trump through a divided House Thursday, as the chamber's first vote on the investigation highlighted the partisan breach the issue has only deepened.
By 232-196, lawmakers approved the procedures they'll follow as weeks of closed-door interviews with witnesses evolve into public committee hearings and — almost certainly — votes on whether the House should recommend Trump's removal.
All voting Republicans opposed the package. Every voting Democrat but two supported it.
Underscoring the pressure Trump has heaped on his party's lawmakers, he tweeted, "Now is the time for Republicans to stand together and defend the leader of their party against these smears."
Yet the roll call also accentuated how Democrats have rallied behind the impeachment inquiry after House Speaker Nancy Pelosi spent months urging caution until evidence and public support had grown.
She and other Democratic leaders had feared a premature vote would wound the reelection prospects of dozens of their members, including freshmen and lawmakers from Trump-won districts or seats held previously by Republicans. But recent polls have shown voters' growing receptivity to the investigation and, to a lesser degree, ousting Trump.
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That and evidence that House investigators have amassed have helped unify Democrats, including those from GOP areas. Rep. Cindy Axne, D-Iowa, said she was supporting a pathway to giving "the American people the facts they deserve," while Rep. Andy Kim, D-N.J., said voters warrant "the uninhibited truth."
Yet Republicans were also buoyed by polling, which has shown that GOP voters stand unflinchingly behind Trump.
"The impeachment-obsessed Democrats just flushed their majority down the toilet," said Michael McAdams, a spokesman for House Republicans' campaign arm.
Elsewhere at the Capitol on Thursday, three House panels led by the Intelligence Committee questioned their latest witness into the allegations that led to the impeachment inquiry: that Trump pressured Ukraine to produce dirt on his Democratic political rivals by withholding military aid and an Oval Office meeting craved by the country's new president.
Tim Morrison, who stepped down from the National Security Council the day before his appearance, testified — still behind closed doors — that he saw nothing illegal in Trump's phone call with the Ukrainian president that is at the center of the Democrat-led investigation.
Yet, Morrison also largely confirmed much of what William Taylor, the highest-ranking U.S. official in Ukraine, said in earlier, highly critical testimony about the call, which Taylor said he and Morrison discussed several times.
The Democrats are still waiting to hear if Morrison's one-time boss, John Bolton, will testify. They have subpoenaed former national security adviser Bolton, who quit the administration after disagreements with Trump over his handling of Ukraine.
In the House inquiry vote, the only Democratic "no" votes were by Reps. Jeff Van Drew, a New Jersey freshman, and veteran Collin Peterson of Minnesota, one of the House's most conservative Democrats. Both are battling for reelection in Republican-leaning districts.
Also supporting the rules was independent Rep. Justin Amash of Michigan, who left the GOP this year after announcing he was open to considering Trump's impeachment.
Thursday's House debate was laced with high-minded appeals to defend the Constitution and Congress' independence, as well as partisan taunts.
"What are we fighting for? Defending our democracy," said Pelosi. She addressed lawmakers with a poster of the American flag beside her and opened her comments by reading from the preamble to the Constitution.
She also said the rules would let lawmakers decide whether to impeach Trump "based on the truth. I don't know why the Republicans are afraid of the truth."
But her counterpart, Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy of California cast the process as a skewed attempt to railroad a president whom Democrats have detested since before he took office.
"Democrats are trying to impeach the president because they are scared they cannot defeat him at the ballot box," he said.
No. 2 House GOP leader Steve Scalise, R-La., accused Democrats of imposing "Soviet-style rules." His backdrop was a bright red poster depicting the Soviet hammer and sickle emblem and the famous St. Basil's Cathedral in Moscow's Red Square.
The House is at least weeks away from deciding whether to vote on actually impeaching Trump. If it does, the Senate would hold a trial on whether to remove him from office. That GOP-run chamber seems highly likely to keep him in the White House.
Rep. Devin Nunes, R-Calif., likened Democrats to a "cult," accusing them of bouncing from "one outlandish conspiracy theory to another." Rep. Maxine Waters, D-Calif., pointedly said she looked forward to Republicans "prioritizing country over party, just as we took an oath to do."
Democrats said the procedures are similar to rules used during the impeachment proceedings of Presidents Richard Nixon and Bill Clinton.
Pelosi decided to have the vote following a GOP drumbeat that the inquiry was tainted because lawmakers hadn't voted to formally commence the work. The rules direct House committees "to continue their ongoing investigations" of Trump.
Democrats hope Thursday's vote will undercut GOP assertions that the process has been invalid. They've noted that there is no constitutional provision or House rule requiring such a vote.
The rules require the House Intelligence Committee — now leading the investigation — to issue a report and release transcripts of its closed-door interviews, which members of both parties have attended.
The Judiciary Committee would then decide whether to recommend that the House impeach Trump.
Republicans could only issue subpoenas for witnesses to appear if the committees holding the hearings approve them — in effect giving Democrats veto power.
Attorneys for Trump could participate in the Judiciary Committee proceedings. Democrats would retain leverage by empowering panel Chairman Jerrold Nadler, D-N.Y., to deny requests by Trump representatives to call witnesses if the White House continues to "unlawfully refuse" to provide testimony or documents Congress demands.
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1:15 p.m.
WASHINGTON — Democrats pushed a package of ground rules for their impeachment inquiry of President Donald Trump through a sharply divided House Thursday, the chamber's first formal vote in a fight that could stretch into the 2020 election year.
The tally was 232-196, with all Republicans who voted opposing the resolution. Just two Democratic defectors joined them: freshman Rep. Jeff Van Drew of New Jersey and 15-term veteran Rep. Collin Peterson of Minnesota, one of his party's most conservative members. Both represent GOP-leaning districts.
Though the vote was technically over the rules that will govern the process, each side used it to accuse the other of having already decided whether Congress should wrench Trump from office.
It also underscored how — for now — lawmakers on each side are comfortable with their approaches to next year's presidential and congressional elections. Democrats have been buoyed by polls showing growing public sentiment toward investigating and even removing Trump from office, while the same surveys have shown GOP voters standing fast by him.
Thursday's measure defined the procedures lawmakers will follow as they transition from weeks of closed-door interviews with witnesses to public hearings and ultimately to possible votes on whether to recommend Trump's impeachment.
The vote, which occurred on Halloween, drew a familiar Twitter retort from Trump: "The greatest Witch Hunt in American History!"
And White House press secretary Stephanie Grisham accused House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and the Democrats of an "unhinged obsession with this illegitimate impeachment proceeding."
During the debate, Democrats spoke of lawmakers' duty to defend the Constitution, while Republicans cast the process as a skewed attempt to railroad a president whom Democrats have detested since before he took office.
"What is at stake in all this is nothing less than our democracy," said Pelosi, D-Calif. Underscoring her point, she addressed the House with a poster of the American flag beside her and began her remarks by reading the opening lines of the preamble to the Constitution.
She also said the procedures would let lawmakers decide whether to impeach Trump "based on the truth. I don't know why the Republicans are afraid of the truth."
House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., contended the Democrats are trying to remove Trump simply "because they are scared they cannot defeat him at the ballot box."
No. 3 House GOP leader Steve Scalise, R-La., accused them of imposing "Soviet-style rules," speaking in front of a bright red poster depicting St. Basil's Cathedral on Red Square in Moscow.
Independent Rep. Justin Amash of Michigan, who left the Republican Party earlier this year after saying he was open to considering whether Trump should be impeached, also backed the measure.
The investigation is focused on Trump's efforts to push Ukraine to investigate his Democratic political opponents by withholding military aid and an Oval Office meeting craved by the country's new president.
Democrats said the procedures — which give them the ability to curb the president's lawyers from calling witnesses — are similar to rules used during the impeachment proceedings of Presidents Richard Nixon and Bill Clinton. Republicans complained they were skewed against Trump.
It is likely to take weeks or more before the House decides whether to vote on actually impeaching Trump. If the House does vote for impeachment, the Senate would hold a trial to decide whether to remove the president from office.
Both parties' leaders were rounding up votes as Thursday's roll call approached, with each side eager to come as close to unanimity as possible.
Republicans said a solid GOP "no" vote would signal to the Senate that the Democratic push is a partisan crusade against a president they have never liked.
Democrats were also hoping to demonstrate solidarity from their most liberal elements to their most moderate members. They argued that GOP cohesion against the measure would show that Republicans are blindly defending Trump, whatever facts emerge.
Republicans said they'd use the vote to target freshman Democrats and those from districts Trump carried in 2016. They said they would contrast those Democrats' support for the rules with campaign promises to focus on issues voters want to address, not on impeaching Trump.
Pelosi decided to have the vote following weeks of GOP claims that the inquiry was invalid because the chamber had not voted to formally commence the work.
The rules direct House committees "to continue their ongoing investigations" of Trump.
Democrats hope Thursday's vote will undercut GOP assertions that the process has been invalid because the chamber hadn't formally voted to start the proceedings. They note there is no constitutional provision or House rule requiring such a vote.
The rules lay out how the House Intelligence Committee — now leading the investigation by deposing diplomats and other officials behind closed doors — would transition to public hearings.
That panel would issue a report and release transcripts of the closed-door interviews it has been conducting.
The Judiciary Committee would then decide whether to recommend that the House impeach Trump.
Republicans could only issue subpoenas for witnesses to appear if the committees holding the hearings approve them — in effect giving Democrats veto power.
Attorneys for Trump could participate in the Judiciary Committee proceedings. But in a bid for leverage, panel Chairman Jerrold Nadler, D-N.Y., would be allowed to deny "specific requests" by Trump representatives if the White House continued refusing to provide documents or witnesses sought by Democratic investigators.
Read Friday's Arkansas Democrat-Gazette for full details.
9:25 a.m.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi says a vote to approve ground rules for their impeachment inquiry of President Donald Trump is a solemn but necessary duty for lawmakers.
In a floor speech before Thursday's vote, Pelosi said, "This is not any cause for any glee or comfort."
Standing next to a large U.S. flag in the well of the House, Pelosi said the impeachment inquiry was necessary to defend the Constitution and prevent an abuse of power by Trump.
"The times have found each and every one of us in this room," Pelosi said. She urged lawmakers to vote in favor of the impeachment rules "to protect the Constitution of the United States. What is at stake in all of this is nothing less than our democracy."
The investigation is focused on Trump's efforts to push Ukraine to investigate his Democratic political opponents by withholding military aid and an Oval Office meeting craved by the country's new president.
8:37 a.m.
Speaker Nancy Pelosi is asking all Democratic lawmakers to come to the House floor as a show of solidarity for the impeachment inquiry resolution.
The House is set to take its first vote Thursday on the resolution that affirms the investigation into President Donald Trump and outlines the process for public hearings and possibly drafting articles of impeachment.
Pelosi sent out word for lawmakers to join the floor debate as proceedings were getting underway, according to a person familiar with the situation and granted anonymity to discuss it.
Few Democrats are expected to oppose the plan in a vote that is expected to fall largely along party lines.
11:08 p.m. WEDNESDAY
House Democrats and Republicans alike are rounding up votes on the ground rules for considering the impeachment of President Donald Trump.
A near party-line vote is expected Thursday on the eight pages of procedures, which are certain to be passed in the Democratic-controlled House. While Republicans say the process has been secretive and tilted against them, Democrats counter that their plan follows impeachment efforts in the past.
The investigation is focused on Trump's efforts to push Ukraine to investigate his Democratic political opponents by withholding military aid and an Oval Office meeting craved by the country's new president.
It is likely to take weeks or more before House lawmakers vote on whether to impeach Trump. If they do impeach, the Senate would decide whether to remove Trump from office.
This story was originally published at 8:42 a.m.