A sharply divided House has approved the rules for its impeachment inquiry of President Donald Trump.
Thursday's near party-line 232-196 roll call was the chamber's first formal vote on a process that's likely to take months, possibly stretching into the early weeks of the 2020 election year.
Underscoring the gravity of the vote, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi presided over the chamber as it voted on the rules package.
The vote was a victory for majority Democrats, who will control the investigation in the House. It gives them the ability to curb the ability of Republicans to subpoena witnesses and of White House lawyers to present witnesses.
Republicans said the process was skewed against them and the White House.
The vote showed how neither side has budged in their fight over whether Trump's effort to squeeze Ukraine for dirt on his Democratic political foes merits forcing him from office.
BREAKING: House passes resolution on Trump impeachment inquiry, setting up framework for next steps in the process https://t.co/lkIEQuUyxp pic.twitter.com/IFOV09lQRm
— CBS News (@CBSNews) October 31, 2019
Pelosi: "What is at stake? What is at stake and all of this is nothing less than our democracy." https://t.co/1Wc95HdW08 pic.twitter.com/sRxCvgVbAN
— CBS News (@CBSNews) October 31, 2019
"Trying to put a ribbon on the sham process doesn't make it any less of a sham," Republican Rep. Jim Jordan says during debate on impeachment resolution. https://t.co/1Wc95HdW08 pic.twitter.com/jaxdz8tzIz
— CBS News (@CBSNews) October 31, 2019
Nevada's Representatives Susie Lee (D), Dina Titus (D) and Steven Horsford (D) all voted yes, while Mark Amodei (R) voted no on the measure.
Representative Dina Titus of Nevada’s First Congressional District released this statement:
“Donald Trump endangered our national security and undermined our elections by pressuring a foreign country to interfere in the 2020 election,” said Congresswoman Titus (NV-1). “Moreover, the White House has repeatedly broken the law by refusing to comply with congressional subpoenas. Today I voted to let the American people hear for themselves the extent of President Trump’s abuse of power. We will continue to build a mountain of evidence to make the strongest case possible to the public and to the Senate.”
Congressman Mark Amodei (NV-02) released the following statement today after voting against H. Res. 660:
“It’s business as usual here in Washington based on the last five weeks of closed-door hearings that have been conducted with little inclusion of the minority. Chairman Schiff will continue along, and eventually, we’ll get a chance to see what several months’ worth of the latest obsession to oust the President produces.
“The simple fact is this: In the House of Representatives the side with the most votes wins. Meaning, it should come as no surprise that Speaker Pelosi’s minions will complete the tasks they’ve been assigned by their partisan bosses. The only question is, what will the articles of impeachment look like with no diversity in authorship? Since this process has been completely political, it will be interesting to see if the Speaker’s voting mandates to her caucus will hold after we get a look at the actual articles, which by the way, will have been generated without any input from 75% of Members in the House – thereby denying 230 million Americans a voice in the process. I guess they’re doing the best they can.
Press Secretary Stephanie Grisham released this statement:
“The President has done nothing wrong, and the Democrats know it. Nancy Pelosi and the Democrats’ unhinged obsession with this illegitimate impeachment proceeding does not hurt President Trump; it hurts the American people. Instead of focusing on pressing issues that impact real families, like reducing gun violence, passing the USMCA, improving healthcare, lowering prescription drug costs, securing our southern border, and modernizing our aging infrastructure, the Democrats are choosing every day to waste time on a sham impeachment – a blatantly partisan attempt to destroy the President.
“With today’s vote, Speaker Pelosi and the Democrats have done nothing more than enshrine unacceptable violations of due process into House rules. Speaker Pelosi, Chairman Schiff and the Democrats conducted secret, behind-closed-door meetings, blocked the Administration from participating, and have now voted to authorize a second round of hearings that still fails to provide any due process whatsoever to the Administration. The Democrats want to render a verdict without giving the Administration a chance to mount a defense. That is unfair, unconstitutional, and fundamentally un-American.”
(AP, CBS News contributed to this report.)
