House of Representatives voted to formalize the impeachment process against Trump

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The U.S House of Representatives has voted to formalize the impeachment inquiry into Donald Trump. It paves the way for public hearings from officials after weeks of closed-door proceedings. The House speaker Nancy Pelosi cast the issue facing Congress in dire terms during a floor speech before the historic vote. She said the president’s assertion that the Constitution provides him the leeway to do whatever he wants as an existential threat to the republic. Pelosi said, “This is a solemn occasion. Nobody, I doubt anybody in this place or anybody you know comes to congress to impeach the president of the United States unless his actions are jeopardizing our oath of office”.

One of the president’s top Russia experts happened to be testifying behind closed doors to one of the committees leading the impeachment inquiry. The former National Security Council official, Tim Morrison reportedly echoed claims by William Taylor (the top U.S diplomat in Ukraine) that Trump appeared to seek a quid pro quo in asking the government in Kyiv to announce an investigation into Joe Biden. It is important that Joe Biden is a frontrunner to face the president in the next 2020 election. But, he also informed investigators that he didn’t find any illegal or improper effort, just bad foreign policy.

The passage of the House resolution comes amid weeks of complaints from Republicans. They have suggested that the secretive nature of the initial hearings were unfair to Trump. They argued that Trump has been denied the due process by the procedural roadmap taken by Democrats, and suggested that past impeachment inquiries (Democrat Bill Clinton and Republican Richard Nixon) afforded greater opportunities for the president to defend. The measure was approved with a 232-196 vote. Republicans didn’t vote in favor of the measure. Pelosi said on Thursday that the work of House investigators had prepared them to formally open the impeachment inquiry, even as she swatted away the suggestion that Republican pressure had pushed her to do so.