What to Expect on Impeachment Day

Leah Barkoukis | December 18, 2019 7:30 AM

Wednesday will be a historic day in the country—with President Donald Trump all but certain to be impeached by the House of Representatives.

After a long debate on Tuesday, the House Rules Committee voted along party lines, 9-4, to set the procedures, which allow for members to debate for six hours. Democrats and Republicans will each have three hours to make their cases.

The entire House will meet at 9 a.m. to begin that debate over the two articles of impeachment, which concern abuse of power by Trump in pressuring Ukraine to investigate the Bidens, and obstruction of Congress.

"Tomorrow promises to be a long day," Rules Committee Chairman Jim McGovern told reporters.

A vote on impeachment is not expected until later in the evening, between 6:30 and 7:30 p.m.

While former President Bill Clinton kept a low profile during his impeachment, Trump is taking the opposite approach, and has a rally scheduled in Battle Creek, Michigan, which will likely shape up to be a fiery event.

After the House votes to impeach the president, the case will head to the Senate.

Each senator will serve as a juror and Chief Justice John Roberts will preside. That means the five senators currently running for the Democratic presidential nomination will have to return from the campaign trail to determine whether to remove Trump from office.
Impeachment managers — members of the House selected by Speaker Nancy Pelosi — will present the articles of impeachment and serve as prosecutors in the case. (Politico)

The Senate trial will begin after the New Year.

President Trump took one last swipe at Democrats on Tuesday in a six-page letter to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, in which he expressed his "strongest and most powerful protest against the partisan impeachment crusade being pursued by the Democrats in the House of Representatives."

“By proceeding with your invalid impeachment you are violating your oaths of office, you are breaking your allegiance to the Constitution, and your are declaring open war on American Democracy. You dare to invoke the Founding Fathers in pursuit of this election-nullification scheme — yet your spiteful actions display unfettered contempt for America’s founding and your egregious conduct threatens to destroy that which our Founders pledged their very lives to build," he wrote.