Trump impeached

Donald Trump on Wednesday became the third US president to be impeached as the House of Representatives formally charged him with abuse of power and obstruction of Congress in a historic step that will inflame partisan tensions across a deeply divided America.

The Democratic-led House's passage of two articles of impeachment on a mostly party-line vote sets the stage for a trial next month in the Republican-controlled Senate - friendlier terrain for Trump - on whether to convict and remove him from office.

The abuse of power article was passed on a 230-197 vote. The obstruction article was passed by 229-198.

The House action sets the stage for a trial next month in the Republican-controlled Senate - friendlier terrain for Trump - on whether to convict him and remove him from office. As the House voted, Trump was addressing a rally in Battle Creek, Michigan.

Only two US presidents - Andrew Johnson and Bill Clinton - have been formally impeached by Congress and no US president has ever been removed from office through impeachment.

7:45am: The House has now passed the second article of impeachment, which is obstruction of Congress. The final vote was 229-198, with only Democratic congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard voting "present."

Trump has been impeached on both abuse of power and obstruction of Congress, and the two articles will now taken up by the Senate in a trial to determine whether he should be removed from office.

7:24am: A majority of House members have now voted "yes" on the first article of impeachment, but it is not official until the end of the vote is called.

7:16am: More than 11 hours after the start of today's impeachment hearings, the vote is now underway on the first article of impeachment against Trump, which is abuse of power.

House members will have 15 minutes to cast their votes, and many are choosing to do it by hand rather than electronically.

7:15am: As members of Congress vote on impeachment, Donald Trump, speaking at his campaign rally in Michigan said, "By the way, it doesn't really feel like we're being impeached".

"We did nothing wrong and we have tremendous support in the Republican party like we've never had before," he said.

7:13am: Adam Schiff, the chairman of the House intelligence committee, has concluded his remarks, wrapping up the debate on the impeachment resolution.

The chamber has now moved on to a vote on the two articles of impeachment.

6:35am: As the impeachment debate rolls close to a final vote, Donald Trump has arrived in Michigan, where he is holding a campaign rally.

After deboarding his plane, the president did not speak to the press, signaling that he was doing "good," as he waved off questions.

6:25am: Congressman Steve Scalise, the House minority whip, has been granted five minutes to criticize the impeachment resolution as the floor debate begins to wind down.

The Louisiana Republican accused Democrats of pursuing a "political vendetta" against Trump with their impeachment inquiry, which he said only stemmed from their "fear that he might win reelection."

"They made up these terms to impeach a president because they couldn't find any crimes," Scalise said, claiming the Democrats "hated" the 63 million Americans who voted for Trump.

That last comment sparked boos from the Democratic side of the aisle and some cheers from Scalise's Republican colleagues.

6:00am: As the House debate continues on the impeachment resolution, another poll has been released showing the country is evenly divided on whether Trump should be removed from office.

According to the NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll, 48% of Americans favor the president's impeachment and removal from office, while 48% oppose it.

Trump and his allies have taken to claiming in recent days that support for impeachment is sharply declining. In reality, support for the president's impeachment has been virtually unmoved since the inquiry's public hearings started.

5:55am: Congressman Devin Nunes, the top Republican on the House intelligence committee, accused Democrats of cooking up baseless allegations against Trump to make up for their loss in the 2016 election.

"The only thing that Donald Trump is guilty of is beating Hillary Clinton," the California Republican said.

Nunes went on to slam his Democratic colleagues for "ripping the country apart ... in their lust for power."

5:45am, Thursday: Echoing dozens of his colleagues, congressman Jim Jordan argued Democrats only pursued impeachment to punish Trump for his allaged success in office.

"When you drain the swamp, the swamp fights back," the president's House ally said.

It also appears congressman Devin Nunes, the top Republican on the House intelligence committee, will get the chance to weigh in on the floor.

11:25pm: Congressman Doug Collins, the top Republican on the House judiciary committee, is now speaking on the floor, slamming impeachment as a baseless, partisan stunt.

"This is not a solemn occasion," Collins said, mocking the words of speaker Nancy Pelosi. "They've been wanting to do this ever since the election."

Collins repeated his words from yesterday's rules committee hearing, saying, "The clock and the calendar are terrible masters."

The Georgia Republican argued his Democratic colleagues only cared about getting political revenge on Trump. "They do not care about facts," Collins said.

11:15pm: The debate begins after the House clerk, Joe Novotny, finished reading the articles of impeachment against Trump. The Democratic House speaker Nancy Pelosi opened the debate.

Nobody comes to Congress to impeach a president, she says, pledging "to support and the defend the Constitution from enemies both foreign of domestic" - quoting the oath taken by congressional lawmakers.

"Now our founders' vision of our republic is under threat from the White House," she says, calling it an "established fact that Trump violated the constitution".

"As speaker of the house I solemnly, and sadly, open the debate on the impeachment of the impeachment of the president of the United States," she says from the podium.

Trump's "reckless actions make impeachment necessary," she continues, calling Trump an urgent threat to US elections.

11:05pm: The House clerk is now reading the articles of impeachment against Trump on the floor, after which House members will have six hours to debate the resolution before vote.

10:50pm: House Democrats successfully approved a motion to end debate on the "rule" outlining procedures for today's impeachment proceedings, clearing the way for a vote on the rule itself, reports The Guardian.

10:30pm: Debate has now concluded on the "rule" outlining procedures for today's impeachment proceedings, and House members have moved on to a vote series to adopt the rule.

10:00pm: As debate ensued in the House, Trump remained active on Twitter, sharing posts by conservative allies and offering some of his own commentary.

9:40pm: House Republicans are trying to introduce more procedural moves. They are suggesting that votes on the impeachment articles be cast manually by standing up and speaking rather than electronic voting.

Republicans are also urging for 12 hours of debate rather than 6.

But Democrats rejected both of their proposals.

9:30pm: Pro-impeachment protesters have found some fun, holiday-themed ways of expressing their displeasure with the president outside the US Capitol.

9:15pm: The House has begun an hour of debate over the rule that sets parameters for the debate on the two articles of impeachment against Trump.

9:05pm: The motion to table Kevin McCarthy's resolution condemning Adam Schiff and Jerry Nadler has succeeded, hopefully clearing the way (finally) for an hour of debate on the procedures for today, reports The Guardian.

8:50pm: The Democratic majority leader, Steny Hoyer, has now introduced a motion to table Kevin McCarthy's resolution condemning Adam Schiff and Jerry Nadler for their handling of the impeachment inquiry, triggering another 15-minute vote.

8:45pm: Kevin McCarthy, Republican leader and representative of California's 23rd District is calling for a vote on a resolution condemning the Democratic chairmen of the intelligence and judiciary committees, Adam Schiff and Jerry Nadler, for their handling of the impeachment inquiry. 

8:35pm: The Republican motion to adjourn before taking up the articles of impeachment has been defeated, clearing the way for debate to begin on the procedures for today's historic proceedings.

8:05pm House Republicans have put forth a motion to adjourn before considering the articles of impeachment.

8:00pm, Wednesday: The US House of Representatives began debate on Wednesday ahead of a historic vote on two articles of impeachment against President Donald Trump, who is poised to become the nation's third president to be impeached.

The vote on charges against the Republican president, expected to come later on Wednesday, is expected to fall along party lines in the Democratic-controlled chamber.