WASHINGTON — Donald Trump has now been officially impeached, making him the third U.S. president after Andrew Johnson and Bill Clinton to face removal from office.
According to CNN, the House of Representatives on Wednesday voted to impeach President Trump on two articles of impeachment: abuse of power and obstruction of Congress.
The article on abuse of power accused Trump of withholding aid to pressure Ukraine into investigating his political rival Joe Biden. It passed 230 votes to 197, with only two Democrats opposing.
The second article, which passed 229 to 198, charged Trump over his refusal to cooperate with the impeachment inquiry and his urging of witnesses and government agencies to do the same.
No House Republicans supported impeachment.
CBS reports that the next steps would be for Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi to name the impeachment managers that will argue to case to senators, and transmit the impeachment articles to Senate.
A trial will then be held in the Senate, presided over by the Supreme Court Chief Justice, with senators acting as jury.
A two-thirds majority vote is needed to remove Trump from office. But with the Republicans controlling the Senate with at least a 51-seat majority, and Senate leader Mitch McConnell claiming he's working with the White House, the president will likely be exonerated.
According to the New York Times, Pelosi has suggested that the House might delay sending the articles to the Senate, in order to negotiate the terms of the proceedings.
The BBC reports that this could put off the trial for an indefinite amount of time, effectively denying Trump the acquittal he expects.
