Politics
Reuters; Associated Press; PhotoQuest
Presidents Bill Clinton, Donald Trump, and Andrew Johnson.
- President Donald Trump on Wednesday became the third president in US history to be impeached.
- The House of Representatives backed two articles of impeachment against him: abuse of power, and obstruction of Congress.
- It voted 230 to 197 in favor of abuse of power and 229 to 198 in favor of obstruction.
- More representatives voted to impeach Trump than in either of the two previous impeachments, of Bill Clinton in 1998 and Andrew Johnson in 1868.
- However, the vote against Johnson was, proportionally, more decisive. The House, which then had far fewer members, voted 66% to impeach, versus 52% for Trump.
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President Donald Trump became only the third president in US history to be impeached Wednesday, when the House of Representatives backed two articles of impeachment against him: abuse of power, and obstruction of congress.
The House voted 230 to 197 in favor of an article accusing Trump of abuse of power, and 229 to 198 in favor an article accusing him of obstruction of Congress.
Compared to the previous two impeachments in US history, Trump had more votes against him than either of his predecessors - Bill Clinton in 1998, and Andrew Johnson in 1868.
Clinton was impeached on charges that related to a sexual harassment lawsuit and for claims that he lied under oath over his affair with White House intern Monica Lewinsky.
He faced articles of impeachment of perjury and obstructing justice, both of which were passed by the House, with the following majorities:
- Perjury: 228 votes to impeach, 206 against.
- Obstruction of justice: 221 votes to impeach, 212 against.
In both cases, Trump comes out just ahead.
REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi presides over the final of two House of Representatives votes approving two counts of impeachment against President Donald Trump in the House Chamber of the US Capitol on Wednesday.
On a sheer numbers basis, Trump's impeachment was also more decisive than the vote against Johnson, who received 126 votes for his impeachment, 47 against, and 17 members who did not vote.
However, in the late 1800s the US had only 37 states and the House was a smaller body. Proportionally, the anti-Johnson vote was stronger, with around 66% of representatives against him, compared to 52% against Trump.