Donald J. Trump Has Officially Been Impeached For A Historic Second Time

A majority of the US House of Representatives have officially voted in favour of impeaching Donald Trump.

The final vote was 232 in favour, 197 against.

Democrats formally submitted an article of impeachment against the President for 'inciting an insurrection' related to the Capitol riots last week.

Part of the article said: "Donald John Trump engaged in high Crimes and Misdemeanors by inciting violence against the Government of the United States.

"Donald John Trump, by such conduct, has demonstrated that he will remain a threat to national security, democracy, and the Constitution if allowed to remain in office[.]"

The vote was expected to get up because the House only needed 218 votes to proceed and Democrats hold 224 seats.

Those in favour of the impeachment argued Trump was a threat to the country and to democracy in general and deserves to face punishment for his actions.

Republicans who voted against impeachment said the article was divisive and harmful during a time where America needed to heal. They also claimed Trump did not incite the Capitol riots.

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This is the first time in US history that a sitting President has been impeached twice.

Ahead of the vote, Trump issued a statement to his loyal followers, saying: "In light of reports of more demonstrations, I urge that there must be NO violence, NO lawbreaking and NO vandalism of any kind.

"That is not what I stand for, and it is not what America stands for. I call on ALL Americans to help ease tensions and calm tempers. Thank You."

But this second impeachment is historic for another reason: it has become the most bipartisan impeachment vote in US history.

Ten Republicans crossed the floor to vote in favour of the article, compared to the five Democrats that did the same when Bill Clinton was impeached in 1998.

Now that Trump has been impeached, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi will send the articles of impeachment to the Senate for a trial to determine whether Trump is guilty.

This is where the President's first impeachment failed, due to an overwhelming Republican majority. The Senate needs a two-thirds majority to convict Trump, which would require at least 17 Republicans to vote in favour.

The New York Times has reported as many as 20 Republicans are keen on conviction this time round.

If the Senate ends up convicting Trump, he will be barred from being able to run as President forever.

There's no telling when the Senate will choose to start the trial, however the first sitting day is January 19, which is one day before Joe Biden's inauguration.

Some Democrats will want the Senate to focus on getting Covid-19 stimulus checks approved and getting Biden's cabinet nominations approved.

Stewart Perrie

Stewart Perrie is a Trending Journalist at LADbible. His first job was as a newsreader and journalist at the award winning Sydney radio station, Macquarie Radio. He was solely responsible for the content broadcast on multiple stations across Australia when the MH17, Germanwings and AirAsia disasters unfolded. Stewart has covered the conflict in Syria for LADbible, interviewing a doctor on the front line, and has contributed to the hugely successful UOKM8 campaign.

@stewartperrie