Published 19:14 IST, December 19th 2019
'Got impeached without one Republican vote' says US President Trump
Donald Trump who became only the third US President to be impeached, now said that it was 'without one Republican vote' in the House of Representatives.
- World News
- 3 min read
The United States President Donald Trump said that it was 'without one Republican vote' that he got impeached on December 18. The Democrat-led House of Representatives voted 230 to 197 to impeach Trump of 'abuse of power' and 229 to 198 for the second charge of 'obstruction of Congress'. This made him only the third President to be impeached from the office after Andrew Johnson in 1868 and Bill Clinton in 1998. Trump again called the entire impeachment against him as 'greatest Witch Hunt' in the history of America on December 19. The US President also accused Democrats that they now 'want to do nothing' with the articles of impeachment and 'not deliver' the to the Senate.
In what is next for the defiant US President, these charges will be in Senate for a trial. The house with Republican majority sits as a High Court in which the senators 'consider evidence, hear witnesses' and then vote to acquit or convict Trump. If the Democrats decide not to show up, they would lose by default. Trump even called him being impeached as 'Presidential Harassment'.
Senate's role in impeachment
The Senate, controlled by Republicans, will now hold a trial under the supervision of Chief Justice of the Supreme Court. In the trial, Senate will serve as the jury and at least two-thirds of the Senate have to vote in favour of removal. However, the Senate also has the power to disqualify the official from holding public offices in the future. In case Trump is only convicted just this time, he will continue to take part in the race of President in 2020. However, if the Senate decides to permanently disqualify Trump, he will not be seen holding a government office again. In contrary to this, the White House has already said that the Senate will exonerate Trump and will 'set things in order'.
“Today marks the culmination in the House of one of the most shameful political episodes in the history of our nation. Without receiving a single Republican vote, and without providing any proof of wrongdoing, Democrats pushed illegitimate articles of impeachment against the president through the House of Representatives,” White House spokeswoman Stephanie Grisham said in a statement.
Updated 19:31 IST, December 19th 2019
