US House of Representatives votes to impeach President Trump

The US House of Representatives voted to impeach President Donald Trump. He is accused of abuse of power and obstruction of the Congress, related to his dealings with Ukraine.

Today's vote sets up a trial in the Senate that will decide whether he remains in office. With this, he has become the third US president in history to be impeached by the House.  

Earlier, the House of Representatives where the Democrats are in a majority, held a lengthy debate whether to impeach him on these charges.

The vote for the first article of impeachment, abuse of power, was passed 230-197 and the



second, for obstruction of Congress, 229-198.

Andrew Johnson and Bill Clinton were other two former presidents who had been impeached.

As the voting took place President Trump was addressing a campaign rally in Michigan, along with Vice-President Mike Pence.

The White House released a statement saying that the president was confident that he will be fully exonerated in a Senate trial.

The Republican Party has a majority in the Senate, making it highly unlikely the president will be removed from office when senators cast their votes.