The House of Representatives voted 228 to 193 to release the two articles of impeachment against President Trump to the Senate. Finally.
House approves measure to name impeachment managers and send articles of impeachment to the Senate. The vote was 228-193
— Chad Pergram (@ChadPergram) January 15, 2020
Rep. Collin Peterson (D-MN) voted nay.
Rep. Justin Amash (I-MI) voted yes
No GOP defections
The House passed the two articles, abuse of power and obstruction of Congress, in December. But House Speaker Nancy Pelosi withheld them from the Senate for nearly 30 days.
The members also voted to officially designate seven of their colleagues as the impeachment managers. Those include House Intelligence Chairman Adam Schiff (D-CA), House Judiciary Chairman Jerry Nadler (D-NY), Rep. Zoe Lofgren (D-CA), House Democratic Caucus Chair Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY), Rep. Val Demings (D-FL), Rep. Jason Crow (D-CO), and Rep. Sylvia Garcia (D-TX).
Republicans were not impressed in the slightest. Here's a statement from Sen. Tim Scott (R-SC) dismissing the Democratic-led impeachment as a "political stunt," and another from Rep. Tim Walberg (R-MI) arguing that the Democrats' upended their own case.
If Speaker Pelosi and House Democrats truly believed that the president was a national security risk, why did they wait 28 days to send the Articles of Impeachment to the Senate? Let’s be frank and call it what it is—a political stunt that has backfired.https://t.co/wbthIkl9Iy
— Tim Scott (@SenatorTimScott) January 15, 2020
For 28 days, Speaker Pelosi has delayed sending the partisan articles of impeachment over to the Senate. There is no urgency. There is no case. And this entire process has been politically-motivated since day one.
— Rep Tim Walberg (@RepWalberg) January 15, 2020
"This was always an exercise in raw partisan politics, contrary to the warnings of our Founders. And over the last month, we saw the justification for running the fastest, thinnest, and weakest impeachment in American history crumble," GOP Leader Kevin McCarthy added.
This vote comes just after President Trump signed a historic trade deal with China.