President Donald Trump impeached
House votes in favor of both articles of impeachment
President Donald Trump’s infamous phone calls with Ukraine took place at the White House. Trump was impeached Dec. 18 for abuse of power and obstruction of Congress.
December 19, 2019
Eighty-five days after the Speaker of the House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi announced an official impeachment inquiry, the full House has voted to impeach President Donald Trump for two articles of impeachment. The House passed Article 1 230–197 for abuse of power. Article 2 passed 229–198 for obstruction of Congress.
The morning after the vote Pelosi addressed the public’s reaction to the impeachment.
“It seems like people have a spring in their step because the president was held accountable for his reckless behavior. No one is above the law and the Constitution is the frame law of the land,” Pelosi said. “It is really interesting to see the response we are getting, bipartisan across party lines.”
Junior Maddie Olson said the impeachment inquiry has shown the United States what Congress can accomplish in a short period of time if they feel passionate about something.
“(Impeachment is) checks and balances, which is the purpose of democracy, which is fair, but it makes me wonder what could Congress get done if they worked this hard on everything because it shows they pick and choose what they care about. If Congress spent more time on issues that can help America, how different would our country be?” Olson said.
According to sophomore Andre Barajas, beginning the impeachment process was the right thing to do, although it is unlikely to pass in the Republican-controlled Senate.
“I am in support of the impeachment, I like the idea that he was impeached right now, I just don’t think it will go fully through,” Barajas said. “(Impeachment) is a part of the people’s rights, if we don’t agree with the government we should be able to go against them and we want someone new to represent them.”
Minnesota Rep. Collin Peterson was one of three Democratic representatives to vote against party lines, according to the Wall Street Journal. All Republicans voted against the impeachment. Presidential candidate Tulsi Gabbard voted “present” on both articles.
Barajas said Trump needs to be held accountable for his actions and that is done by impeachment.
“What he did with the Ukraine government, (everything) he does behind people’s backs that he doesn’t release to the public and how he’s trying to obstruct the government from seeing what he’s doing are all things he should be charged with,” Barajas said.
According to Olson, Trump is being treated differently than other presidents.
“I don’t know if it’s completely fair. There’s a double standard because there have been presidents that have done things like this before and no one has batted an eye, but since it’s Trump, people are more defensive about it,” Olson said.
In a Tweet before the vote, Trump expressed his frustration regarding the impeachment in all caps.
“SUCH ATROCIOUS LIES BY THE RADICAL LEFT, DO NOTHING DEMOCRATS. THIS IS AN ASSAULT ON AMERICA, AND AN ASSAULT ON THE REPUBLICAN PARTY!!!!”
The articles of impeachment is expected to move to the Senate. The Senate will need to vote with a two-thirds majority for Trump to be removed from office.
