US House votes to impeach President Donald Trump

US House of Representatives on Wednesday (local time) voted to impeach Donald Trump, making him the third President in American history to be impeached.

CNN reported that a majority of the US House of Representatives voted to support the two articles of impeachment against President Trump.

Trump faced two articles of impeachment -- abuse of power and obstruction of Congress.

According to CNN, on the first article of impeachment -- abuse of power -- 230 voted in favour and 197 voted against it.

The House of Representatives passed two articles of impeachment against President Trump. The House voted primarily along party lines to impeach Trump on abuse of power and obstruction of Congress, reported CNN.

It has been nearly three months since House Speaker Nancy Pelosi announced that Democrats would launch an impeachment inquiry after an anonymous whistleblower complaint alleged that Trump had solicited interference in a July phone call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to help his 2020 reelection campaign.

Democrats said their investigation revealed a months-long campaign directed by the President and carried out by his personal attorney Rudy Giuliani for Ukraine to announce an investigation into former Vice President Joe Biden and his son Hunter Biden, along with the 2016 election.

The President withheld US security aid and a one-on-one meeting that Zelensky sought, they say, and then obstructed the investigation by defying congressional subpoenas across the administration.

"Very sadly, the facts have made clear that the President abused his power for his own personal, political benefit and that he obstructed Congress as he demanded that he is above accountability, above the Constitution and above the American people," Pelosi said in a letter to colleagues Tuesday.

"During this very prayerful moment in our nation's history, we must honour our oath to support and defend our Constitution from all enemies, foreign and domestic," the letter read.

Trump and his GOP congressional allies, however, had slammed the impeachment proceedings, accusing the Democrats of rushing to impeach him ahead of the 2020 election.

The President sent a blistering letter to Pelosi on Tuesday accusing Democrats of an "illegal, partisan attempted coup."

"History will judge you harshly as you proceed with this impeachment charade," he wrote.

The House vote will eventually shift the impeachment proceedings to the Senate, where Republicans control the majority.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell on Tuesday predicted that the Senate would have a "largely partisan outcome," after saying last week that he was coordinating with the President's lawyers ahead of the trial.