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House to Vote on Trump Impeachment Inquiry Rules: Live Updates
The House will vote on a resolution Thursday to guide the impeachment process as it heads into a more public phase.
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The House is preparing to vote on the resolution. Follow our live vote tracker.
The House on Thursday will take its first formal vote on the impeachment inquiry into President Trump. Lawmakers are expected to vote largely along party lines to adopt a resolution that will set rules for the next phase of the inquiry, including public hearings and the drafting of articles of impeachment against the president.
The vote is a striking turnabout for House Democrats. For weeks, they have resisted formal floor action, fearing that a vote could hurt the re-election prospects of members in Trump-friendly swing districts where voters want them to focus more on issues like jobs and the high price of prescription drugs than on a seemingly futile effort to oust the president.
But after a series of bombshell revelations about the president’s pressure campaign to enlist Ukraine to investigate his political rivals, Democrats are convinced the public is behind the inquiry, and are ready to call the bluff of Republicans who have been demanding a floor vote.
Speaker Nancy Pelosi has scheduled the vote for Thursday morning.
Here’s what to expect:
What the vote is on
The vote is on a resolution that would set rules for the public phase of an impeachment inquiry that has so far been conducted exclusively behind closed doors. It would authorize the House Intelligence Committee — the panel that has been leading the investigation and conducting private depositions — to convene public hearings and produce a report that will guide the Judiciary Committee as it considers whether to draft articles of impeachment against President Trump.
The measure would also give the president rights in the Judiciary Committee, allowing his lawyers to participate in hearings and giving Republicans the chance to request subpoenas for witnesses and documents. But the White House says it still does not provide “basic due process rights,” and Republicans complain that their ability to issue subpoenas is limited. They would need the consent of Democrats, or a vote of a majority of members. That has been standard in previous modern impeachments. The majority has the final say over how the proceedings unfold.
What it all means
The vote will be the first time the full House has gone on the record on the impeachment inquiry since Democrats announced last month that they were starting their investigation into Mr. Trump’s dealings with Ukraine. And while it is not a formal vote to open impeachment proceedings, it is all but certain to be seen as a measure of approval or disapproval for the process.
Republicans have been demanding a formal vote to authorize the impeachment inquiry, as was done in the case of President Bill Clinton, who was impeached in the House but acquitted by the Senate, and President Richard M. Nixon, who resigned rather than face impeachment. The Constitution does not require an authorization vote, nor do House rules require it, and Democrats have repeatedly said an authorization vote is not necessary.
But Thursday’s vote indicates that Democrats, once wary of holding a vote on the issue, have now united solidly behind the idea. They believe it adds an air of legitimacy to the inquiry and gives them practical tools they will need to effectively — and quickly — make their case to the public. It is also meant to call the bluff of Republicans who have been arguing for weeks that the process lacks legitimacy because the full House hasn’t voted on it.
At the same time, there are risks for Democrats. A highly partisan vote could buttress Republican arguments that the inquiry is a purely political exercise aimed solely at overturning the 2016 election.
How to follow along
Our reporters are on Capitol Hill chronicling the vote and all of today’s impeachment developments here. The New York Times will be tracking the vote live from start to finish, showing you who is voting how and analyzing the results.
What else is happening in impeachment today
As lawmakers were preparing for a midmorning vote, Democratic and Republican investigators leading the impeachment inquiry were four floors below in the bowels of the Capitol, questioning yet another witness behind closed doors.
The witness, Timothy Morrison, the former top Russia expert for the National Security Council, appeared under subpoena despite a White House directive not to, according to an official involved in the inquiry. He is the second current white House official to testify before the inquiry this week, following Lt. Col. Alexander S. Vindman.
Little was known about what Mr. Morrison intends to say. Other witnesses have said he informed them about efforts by Mr. Trump and his ambassador to the European Union, Gordon D. Sondland, made clear to the Ukrainians that they expected a public pledge for certain politically advantageous investigations before the security assistance would be released.
Mr. Morrison resigned his post at the National Security Council on Thursday ahead of the testimony, though he had been weighing leaving for some time, according to another official familiar with the matter.
Catch up on impeachment: What you need to know
Mr. Trump repeatedly pressured President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine to investigate people and issues of political concern to Mr. Trump, including former Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr. Here’s a timeline of events since January.
A C.I.A. officer who was once detailed to the White House filed a whistle-blower complaint on Mr. Trump’s interactions with Mr. Zelensky. Read the complaint.
Speaker Nancy Pelosi announced in September that the House would open a formal impeachment proceeding in response to the whistle-blower’s complaint. Here’s how the impeachment process works and here’s why political influence in foreign policy matters.
House committees have issued subpoenas to the White House, the Defense Department, the budget office and other agencies for documents related to the impeachment investigation. Here’s the evidence that has been collected so far.
Read about the Democrats’ proposed rules to govern impeachment proceedings.
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