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!”
Michael Avenatti, the attorney representing adult film star Stormy Daniels, says he's fighting to keep the case out in the open and will renew a motion to depose both the president and his lawyer, Michael Cohen.
The governor of Colorado, a state where marijuana is legal, told Cheddar the federal government's negative stance against cannabis has created uncertainty in the space. Gov. Hickenlooper says not only is that "bad for business," but also makes it hard for states to maintain a good relationship with Washington.
Stringer wants Facebook to bring in more independent directors and experts on data protection to provide more oversight at the company. As the comptroller, Stringer manages the city's public pension funds, which have close to $1 billion invested in Facebook.
Jennifer Palmieri, former director of communications for Hillary Clinton's 2016 presidential campaign, says women have to face the question of female ambition and motivation. "That's different than the questions people have for male candidates," she told Cheddar Monday.
The California billionaire says he isn't thinking that far ahead and is just focused on his "Need to Impeach" campaign going into the midterm elections in November.
For the full interview, [click here](https://cheddar.com/videos/the-man-behind-the-need-to-impeach-campaign).
The California billionaire says Trump "is a lawless president," which is why he's focusing his efforts on a "Need to Impeach" campaign. So far, more than 5 million people signed on, which Steyer says will add pressure on lawmakers to take the drastic step.
President Trump called out Amazon in an early morning tweet Thursday, saying he's concerned the company pays "little or no taxes." This follows reports that the president wants to go after Amazon. Immediately following these reports, Amazon stock tanked, losing billions of dollars in market cap. This is not the first time Trump has attacked Amazon.
Facebook is making changes to its data-sharing practices in the wake of the Cambridge Analytica scandal. The social media company announced late Wednesday that it would stop sharing user information with third-party data firms. This strategy has been at the core of Facebook's business for the past few years.
Bryan Cranston, star of the hit show "Breaking Bad," joins us to talk about this new project. He's the co-creator of "The Dangerous Book for Boys," a new TV series which will stream on Amazon Prime. Fans won't see him on camera, but they will see actress Erinn Hayes. Cranston and Hayes tell us what to expect from the family-friendly show. It premieres on Amazon this Friday, March 30th.
Facebook is making changes to its data-sharing practices in the wake of the Cambridge Analytica scandal. The social media company announced late Wednesday that it would stop sharing user information with third-party data firms.
President Trump called out Amazon in an early morning tweet today, saying he's concerned the company pays "little or no taxes." This follows reports that the president wanted to go after Amazon.
Comedian Anthony Atamanuik guesses whether the president has taken to Twitter to discuss sandwiches and nipples. Atamanuik impersonates Trump for Comedy Central's "The President's Show."
The Congressman favors gun control rather than a full-blown repeal of the Constitutional Amendment, including controls on semi-automatic weapons and bump stocks. Early Tuesday, John Paul Stevens, a former Associate Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court, published an op-ed calling for a repeal of the Amendment.
