The House approved a resolution Thursday formally authorizing and articulating guidelines for the next phase of its impeachment inquiry, a move that signaled Democrats are on course to bring charges against President Donald Trump.
A 232-to-196 vote, which hewed closely to party lines, was expected to fuel the partisan fighting that has accompanied every stage of the impeachment probe and much of the Trump presidency. Almost Democrats backed the resolution, and House Republicans, who spent weeks clamoring for such a vote, opposed it.
In a speech before the vote, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., called the impeachment as a "solemn" and "prayerful" process - "not cause for any glee or comfort."
"Every member should support the American people hearing the facts for themselves," she said in a floor speech. "That is what this vote is about. It's about the truth. And what is at stake in all of this is nothing less than our democracy.", he added furher'.
Democratic leaders expected that 2- 4 of their members would vote against the resolution. At the end, Reps Collin Peterson, D-Minn., and Jeff Van Drew, D-N.J., who represent Republican-leaning districts, opposed it.
Rep. Joe Cunningham, D-S.C., one of the few Trump-district Democrats who has been reluctant about backing an impeachment inquiry, voted yes.
"It's about transparency in the process; I like the fact that the transcripts will be made public and the American public will get the chance to understand what's going on," he said Wednesday, adding that he still is not convinced Trump needs to be impeached. "I am not prejudging anything. until I see all the evidence."
