US president Donald Trump became the third president in the history of country to get impeached. Donald Trump impeached by the house representative however another trail of impeachment to be carried out in Senate which will decide whether Donald Trump will remain the president or not.

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Donald Trump has become the third US president in history to be impeached by the House of Representatives, setting up a trial in the Senate that will decide whether he remains in office.

The House voted on two charges - that the president had abused his power and that he had obstructed Congress.

Nearly all Democrats voted for the charges and every Republican against.

President Trump's Republicans control the Senate so it is highly unlikely he will be removed from power.

Democrats are already unhappy at the way the trial could be held. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has now indicated it might delay sending the articles of impeachment to the Senate, in order to bargain on the terms of the proceedings.

This could put off the trial for an indefinite period, denying Mr Trump his expected acquittal.

Mr Trump remained defiant as the voting took place, telling a campaign rally in Battle Creek, Michigan: "While we're creating jobs and fighting for Michigan, the radical left in Congress is consumed with envy and hatred and rage."

After 10 hours of partisan debate on the merits of the two impeachment charges against President Trump, the House called for votes at about 20:30 on Wednesday (01:30 GMT Thursday).

The first charge is abuse of power, stemming from Mr Trump's alleged attempt to pressure Ukraine to announce investigations into his Democratic political rival, Joe Biden.

It passed by 230 votes to 197, almost completely on party lines. Only two Democrats opposed - New Jersey's Jeff Van Drew, who is set to leave the party, and Minnesota's Collin Peterson.

The second charge is obstruction of Congress, because the president allegedly refused to co-operate with the impeachment inquiry, withholding documentary evidence and barring his key aides from giving evidence.

It passed by 229-198. Democrat Jared Golden of Maine voted for the first charge but opposed this. No Republicans supported impeachment, although ex-party member Justin Amash, from Michigan, did. Democratic presidential candidate Tulsi Gabbard voted "present" on both charges - effectively an abstention. Two members were absent for personal reasons. Being impeached places Donald Trump alongside only two other presidents in the nation's history - Andrew Johnson and Bill Clinton.

And so it is done. Donald Trump now becomes the third member of the exclusive club that no-one wants to be a member of.

But the framers of the constitution with its impeachment provision could never have imagined the hyper-partisanship - on both sides - that has been witnessed during today's sterile House proceedings. Each side with its own narrative, neither side listening to the other. And one can say with some certainty - I would bet all my yet-to-be-gifted Christmas presents - that it will be much the same once this becomes a trial in the Senate in the New Year.

Donald Trump will be acquitted. He won't be forced from office. So what changes? Well, Donald Trump will have a place in the history books - and for a man with such a huge sense of self that will hurt. Acutely. But 2020? Far from this being a killer blow against President Trump, it might turbo charge his bid for a second term. The House Speaker, Nancy Pelosi, was always wary about going down the impeachment route. We'll discover next November whether that concern was well founded.

The House of Representatives voted on Wednesday to impeach President Donald Trump on both articles of impeachment: abuse of power and obstruction of Congress. The vote followed weeks of testimony related to his dealings with Ukraine and hours of fiery debate over the process.

Trump is only the third president in U.S. history to be impeached. Follow us here for all of the latest breaking news and analysis on impeachment from NBC News' political reporters, as well as our teams on Capitol Hill and at the White House.

Republican National Committee chair Ronna McDaniel said “Nancy Pelosi and her fellow impeachment crusaders have ensured the reelection of President Trump” by voting to impeach him.

At the same time, the Democratic National Committee chair lauded those who voted for impeachment. “Those who voted for impeachment will be remembered for their courage and commitment to protecting our democracy,” said DNC chair Tom Perez.

Republicans and Democrats have stuck with tried and tested talking points, with the former continuing to cast the process as a “sham” and the latter repeating that House Dems had a constitutional responsibility to see the impeachment through.

Wednesday's landmark votes on impeachment come after a more than two-month inquiry by House Democrats, who accuse the president of pressuring Ukraine to open an investigation into the president's political rival and former vice president, Joe Biden, who is also a frontrunner in the 2020 Democratic presidential race. They also charge that the president obstructed their investigation by refusing to comply with subpoenas and directing members of his administration to do the same. 

The votes made Trump only the third president in United States history to be impeached and set the stage for a likely trial in the Republican-led Senate in January. No president has ever been removed from office via the impeachment process set out in the Constitution, and Republican senators have given little indication of changing that.

As the impeachment aftermath unfolds, here are all the latest updates as of Wednesday, December 18: 

Minutes after the House impeached Trump, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi threw the process into confusion by refusing to say when or whether she would send the articles of impeachment to the Senate for a trial.

At a news conference held immediately after the vote, Pelosi said "we'll see what happens" when asked if she would send the articles to the Senate. She said that House Democrats could not name impeachment managers - House prosecutors who make the case in a Senate trial - until they know more about how the Senate will conduct a trial.

Pelosi made the comments after Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell rejected a proposal earlier this week from Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer to call several witnesses. The Republican-led Senate is expected to acquit Trump.

Asked if she could guarantee she would send the articles, she said: "That would have been our intention", but that they will see what the Senate decides.

"We are not having that discussion, we have done what we set out to do," she said.

 

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