House approves sending impeachment articles to Senate

WASHINGTON The House of Representatives passed a resolution Wednesday to send impeachment articles to the Senate for President Donald Trump's trial. The resolution cleared the House in a 228-193 vote. Trump was impeached in December when the House approved abuse of power and obstruction of Congress articles against him. The resolution also approved seven lawmakers who will prosecute Trump's in the Senate. The vote came after House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff will lead the team. Congressmen Jerry Nadler, Hakeem Jeffries, Jason Crow and congresswomen Zoe Lofgren, Val Demings and Sylvia Garcia will comprise the rest of the team. The impeachment trial in the Senate is expected to begin Tuesday. Pelosi has been withholding them since December in a bid to ramp up pressure on Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell as she sought to win concessions on the rules of Trump's trial, and whether witnesses would be called. But McConnell has held firm, refusing to budge on any matters before they are sent. The Senate has yet to vote on the rules of the trial, but Trump is almost certain to be acquitted in the Republican-held chamber. Democrats would need 67 votes to remove him from office, but none of the Senate's 53 Republicans have indicated they would support Trump's removal. The charges are related to Trump's multiple requests to Ukraine to publicly declare criminal probes into Democratic front-runner Joe Biden, as well as his refusal to cooperate with the House's proceedings and his directive that top officials toe the same line. Trump has dismissed the case against him as a hoax fabricated by Democrats, and called on his Republican allies in Congress to move for a quick dismissal of the case.