President Trump has been impeached

By Fernando Alfonso III, Veronica Rocha, Mike Hayes and Amanda Wills, CNN

Updated 10:31 a.m. ET, December 19, 2019
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9:51 a.m. ET, December 18, 2019

This is the woman who is presiding over the debate

From CNN's Phil Mattingly and Ana Cabrera

You will see a lot of Rep. Diana DeGette, a Democrat from Colorado, today.

She is serving as speaker pro tempore and presiding over the US House of Representatives for the debate on the impeachment of President Trump.

Here's what Rep. DeGette said about this in a statement:

“I am honored that the speaker has asked me to serve as speaker pro tempore of the House and to preside over most of the impeachment debate. None of us came to Congress to impeach a president, but every one of us – when we assumed office – took an oath to uphold the constitution. This is a sad and somber moment in our nation’s history and the responsibility to preside over this important debate is something I will not take lightly."

 

9:53 a.m. ET, December 18, 2019

Top House Republican introduces motion accusing Democrats of abuse of power

Samuel Corum/Getty Images
Samuel Corum/Getty Images

House Speaker Kevin McCarthy just introduced a resolution accusing Democratic House committee chairmen Adam Schiff and Jerry Nadler of "abusing and exceeding their powers as chairman of committees."

McCarthy's motion cites the release of information like the whistleblower complaint and the announcement of a "wide-ranging investigation into the Trump/Giuliani Ukraine scheme" without consultation of the Ranking minority member.

McCarthy also accuses Schiff of engaging "in a false retelling of the July 25th, 2019, telephone conversation between President Trump and President Zelensky" of Ukraine.

Watch the moment:

9:42 a.m. ET, December 18, 2019

216 is the vote threshold for the House majority to pass anything today

Patrick Semansky/AP
Patrick Semansky/AP

We're expecting a number of votes on procedural motions ahead of the debate on the articles of impeachment today.

The vote count for the Democrats in the majority to pass anything is 216.

Normally, in this session that number is 218, but there are vacancies in the House including for the seat of Democratic Congressman Elijah Cummings who passed away.

9:35 a.m. ET, December 18, 2019

Speaker Pelosi's message to her members: No gloating

From CNN's Manu Raju

Saul Loeb/AFP/Getty Images
Saul Loeb/AFP/Getty Images

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and her staff have instructed her caucus to show unity and not to gloat at all during the proceedings today, per multiple sources.

Pelosi wants the public to see Democrats as taking this moment seriously and not be seen as cheering the President’s impeachment.

This message has been conveyed in meetings and in emails from staff to member offices, per sources.

9:28 a.m. ET, December 18, 2019

Today's vote is a "solemn moment," Democratic congressman says

From CNN's Ali Zaslav 

Rep. Eliot Engel, chair of the House Foreign Affairs committee, said today is "a solemn moment, and it shows the resilience of our democracy,”

“It’s a difficult time for everybody,” he told CNN as he walked into the Capitol ahead of today’s vote.

9:27 a.m. ET, December 18, 2019

Trump ally says Republicans are "very unified" in support of the President

From CNN's Ali Zaslav 

Rep. Mark Meadows, a close Trump ally, reiterated the GOP's support for the President ahead of today’s vote in the House.

He says he doesn’t expect any Republican defections.

"We’ve been be very unified not only in our support of the President, but throughout really the whole impeachment process," he added.

9:23 a.m. ET, December 18, 2019

Democratic leader: GOP's motion for adjournment is a way to "say we don't like what you're doing"

Majority leader Rep. Steny Hoyer, a Democrat from Maryland, says work will get "done by the end of the day" despite a motion for adjournment proposed by Republicans ahead of the vote on the articles for impeachment.

The motion for adjournment was made at about 9 a.m. ET.

"This is a way to say we don't like what you're doing today. We don't think you ought to be doing it today. There's a disagreement on that. We feel very strongly that we are compelled by our duty to our oath and the Constitution and our democracy to act today where we have found that the President of the United States has abused his power. They don't agree with that, many of them," Hoyer said.
9:17 a.m. ET, December 18, 2019

Here's what we know now about the schedule today

Minority Whip Steve Scalise sent House Republicans an updated schedule just now, asking: "Who else is looking forward to a quiet, relaxing day around here?"

Here's what the updated schedule for today's proceedings look like:

  • 9 a.m. ET: Procedural votes begins
  • 11 to 11:30 a.m. ET: First vote series of the day on rules. After the first vote series, we’ll move into debate on H. Res. 755.
  • 7 to 8 p.m. ET: Final vote series of the day on adoption of the Articles of Impeachment.  
  • 7:45 to 8:45 p.m. ET: Walk off the floor
9:09 a.m. ET, December 18, 2019

The House is now in session

Republicans have inserted a procedural vote to proceed the vote on the rule that would begin the impeachment debate on the House floor this morning.

House members must vote on that before the impeachment debate can begin.