WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump was impeached by the U.S. House of Representatives Wednesday night, becoming only the third American chief executive to be formally charged under the Constitution’s ultimate remedy for high crimes and misdemeanors.
Democrats led Wednesday night’s voting, framed in what many said was their duty to protect the Constitution and uphold the nation’s system of checks and balances. Republicans stood by their party’s leader, who has frequently tested the bounds of civic norms.
Trump is blasting the Democratic-led effort to impeach him, telling supporters in Michigan just as the House voting was getting underway that “it doesn’t really feel like we’re being impeached.” He said that the country is doing better than ever, adding that “we did nothing wrong and we have tremendous support in the Republican Party like we’ve never had before.”
The trial is expected to begin in January in the Republican-controlled Senate, where a vote of two-thirds is necessary for conviction.
