On a historic day in America, political players on Capitol Hill are moving slowly and divisively after approving rules for impeachment debate. The body is now beginning six hours of partisan debate time before this historic impeachment vote.
Lawmakers just finished debating the rules that will be used to consider the impeachment charges against President Donald Trump after Democrats defeated two objections raised by Republicans. The House adopted debate rules, voting twice after Republicans raised a motion to reconsider. The vote on the rules for the debate passed 228 to 197, signaling that few lawmakers plan to defect parties, and now representatives will move to those six hours of debate about the articles, themselves. Finally, the House will vote on the articles of impeachment, in what is expected to rest almost entirely along party lines. The president is facing impeachment on two articles — abuse of power and obstruction of Congress. If the vote passes, Trump will become the third American president charged with high crimes and misdemeanors.
Rep. Diana DeGette (D-Colo. 1st District) was tapped by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi to preside over the debate as speaker pro tempore.
Soon after House Chaplain Patrick Conroy opened with a prayer to “help them and help us put away any judgments that belong to you and live together in harmony,” lawmakers got straight to it, with no harmony in sight. Democrats defeated two motions raised almost immediately after the session was gaveled in. The House voted 226 to 188 to block the first motion, put forth by Rep. Andy Biggs (R-Ariz. 5th District), to adjourn before debating even began, and voted 226 to 191 to block the second motion, put forth by GOP minority leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif. 23rd District), condemning the inquiry as illegitimate.
The schedule circulated on Tuesday night could make the entire day hard to follow and may tire out casual observers. However, the proceedings could have been drawn out even further, if Republican objections were approved during last night’s session of the House Rules Committee. Republicans had raised objections that the debate is only six hours instead of 12 hours.
After the conclusion of today’s debate, lawmakers will finally vote. Many have already publicly pledged to vote along party lines.
Representatives largely used morning debate time, which began soon after 10 a.m. ET, for partisan diatribes. Republicans like Debbie Lesko (R-Ariz. 8th District) called the inquiry “rigged,” and Democrats like Majority Whip Jim Clyburn (D-S.C. 6th District) referred to Thomas Paine’s pamphlets and said the president “seems to believe he is a king or above the law.” Many members were present at the start of the day when Republicans raised their objections but seemed to exit the chamber once debate began.
Pelosi remained in the Congressional chamber, sitting in the back row. Meanwhile, the president remains active on Twitter. He has tweeted and retweeted attacks against the Democrats, including a tweet in which the president wrote: “can you believe that I will be impeached today by the Radical Left, Do Nothing Democrats, AND I DID NOTHING WRONG!”
President Trump's comments about pardoning himself are odd since the president keeps saying he did nothing wrong, says Republican Sen. James Lankford.
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Apple is introducing new tools to fight tech addiction. At the company's annual developer conference, Apple unveiled a new feature called 'Digital Health' that allows users to track how much time they spend on their phones and on certain apps. Tim Cook and other Apple executives also took some not-so-subtle jabs at Facebook during the keynote address, calling out the social media company for its data practices.
Starbucks founder and executive chairman Howard Schultz is leaving the company after nearly 40 years. He helped grow Starbucks into an international brand with around 28,000 locations worldwide. Many speculate that Schultz is considering a presidential run in the coming years.
And Hope King sits down with stand-up comedian Nikki Glaser at Comedy Central's Clusterfest. Glaser talks the challenges of being a woman in comedy and how President Trump has changed the industry.
The California city banned scooters from its streets on Monday, insisting that companies get permits for the two-wheelers first. Cheddar's Nora Ali and Baker Machado look at how the scooters rolled into San Francisco's bad graces.
The Democrat from New York is pushing Congress to ratify the Equal Rights Amendment, which would ensure women are treated the same as men under the law. "If your rights are guaranteed in the Constitution, then they're enforceable," says Maloney.
Actress and activist Alyssa Milano joined forces Monday with Rep. Carolyn Maloney, a Democrat from New York, to push the Equal Rights Amendment. The Constitutional guarantee of women's rights was passed by Congress in 1972, but still needs to be ratified by states to become the law of the land.
Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School's newest graduates carry with them a tragic burden, but the memory of the deadly mass shooting should not hold them back, said Darren Levine, an English teacher at the school. The senior class graduated on Sunday with a surprise visit from Jimmy Fallon, host of "The Tonight Show."
Former Massachusetts Governor Bill Weld called on President Trump to change the federal classification of marijuana so researchers can explore the drug's ability to treat diseases.
Comedian Samantha Bee may be too valuable to TBS for the network to scrap her show, despite vulgar comments about the president's daughter Ivanka Trump. "TV networks always want to protect the big-ratings stars," said the Hollywood Reporter's Jeremy Barr. The lack of action, just days after ABC canceled 'Roseanne' for that star's racist tweet, is seen by many as emblematic of the media's liberal bias.
The NFL's decision to ban players from taking a knee during the anthem propagates the narrative that the athletes belong at the bottom of a hierarchy and are just supposed to "do as we say," says ex-Giant Victor Cruz. "I think you'll still see some kind of protest," he tells Cheddar.
