The U.S. House of Representatives approved a resolution sending articles of impeachment to the Senate and appointing seven fellow members as managers for the impeachment trial of President Donald Trump, nearly a month after voting to impeach.
The House of Representatives voted 228-193, largely along party lines, to approve the measure, with one Democratic lawmaker, Rep. Collin Peterson of Minnesota, breaking ranks to join the House Republicans in voting against the resolution.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi had earlier named the seven impeachment managers: Reps. Adam Schiff, D-Calif.; Jerry Nadler, D-N.Y.; Zoe Lofgren, D-Calif.; Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y.; Val Demings, D-Fla.; Jason Crow, D-Colo.; and Sylvia Garcia, D-Texas. They are expected to deliver the articles of impeachment to the Senate late in the afternoon Jan. 15.
"We are here today to cross a very important threshold in American history," Pelosi said before the vote, and she warned senators who have voiced their intention to dismiss charges against Trump that "dismissal is a cover-up."
Meanwhile, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., accused Pelosi and the Democrat-controlled House of taking the nation "down a dangerous [path]," saying the impeachment proceedings set a dangerous precedent for "every future president of either party when the House does not like that person."
On Twitter, Trump dismissed the looming impeachment trial as "another Con Job by the Do Nothing Democrats," while White House press secretary Stephanie Grisham said Trump believes he will be "fully exonerated."
The House is accusing Trump of abusing his power and obstructing Congress. Both counts are connected to claims that Trump invited the government of Ukraine to investigate former vice president and 2020 White House aspirant Joe Biden and his son Hunter in exchange for the release of aid from the U.S. military and Department of State that had been approved by Congress.
The Senate would need a two-thirds majority to convict Trump of the impeachment charges and remove him from office.