House holds impeachment floor debate, vote

WASHINGTON—The U.S. House of Representatives is set to pass the articles of impeachment against President Donald Trump along mostly party lines on Wednesday, making Trump the third U.S. president to be impeached. Lawmakers are holding six hours of floor debate and could vote in the early evening. In a six-page letter sent to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., on Tuesday, the president denounced the proceedings as “open war on American democracy” and an attempt to overturn an election.

How will the vote go down? Democrats, who have a majority in the House, support impeachment except for Rep. Collin Peterson of Minnesota and Rep. Jeff Van Drew of New Jersey, who announced he will switch his affiliation to the Republican Party. Rep. Ron Kind of Wisconsin has not announced how he will vote. Republicans are expected to unanimously oppose impeachment, and independent lawmaker Justin Amash of Michigan has said he will vote yes. Next, Pelosi must announce impeachment managers—the House lawmakers who will prosecute the case against the president at a Senate trial. The House must vote to approve the list.

Dig deeper: Read my report in The Stew about the political forces driving impeachment.