Latest updates on Thursday’s markup hearing
- After 14 hours of debate, the House Judiciary Committee passed the procedural amendment that precedes the vote on the two articles of impeachment against President Trump.
- House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerry Nadler postponed the vote on the articles to 10 a.m. Friday morning, infuriating Republicans.
- The committee will ultimately vote on each article separately, starting with abuse of power and followed by obstruction of Congress.
- Download the free CBS News app to stream live coverage of the Judiciary Committee hearing.
Washington — The House Judiciary Committee spent more than 14 hours on Thursday debating amendments to the two articles of impeachment against President Trump, the last step before sending the articles to the full House for a vote.
The committee met late into the night Wednesday and resumed their work Thursday morning, when members could start offering amendments to the articles. Republicans proposed five amendments, all of which failed in a party line vote of 23-17.
The first article accuses the president of abuse of power for his efforts to pressure Ukraine to investigate his political rivals. The second article accuses him of obstruction of Congress for his refusal to cooperate in the impeachment inquiry.
Late Thursday night, the committee passed the procedural amendment that precedes voting on the two articles. Immediately after that vote, House Judiciary Committee chairman Jerry Nadler postponed the votes on the articles until Friday at 10 a.m., a move that sparked immediate condemnation from Republicans on the committee.
McConnell on Senate trial that “everything I do during this, I’m coordinating with the White House counsel”
11:44 p.m.: Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell says that he’ll be working “in total coordination” with the White House counsel on the president’s trial in the Senate. He told Fox News’ Sean Hannity in an interview Thursday night, “Everything I do during this, I’m coordinating with the White House counsel. There will be no difference between the president’s position and our position as to how to handle this.”
McConnell met with White House counsel Pat Cipollone and White House legislative director Eric Ueland earlier Thursday afternoon.
“I’m going to coordinate with the president’s lawyers, so there would be no difference between us on how to do this,” McConnell said. Although he will, as he put it, be taking “his cues from the president’s lawyers,” the majority leader isn’t expecting any surprises out of the Senate trial.
“We know how it’s going to end,” he said. “There is no chance the president is going to be removed from office.”
His hope is to work through the Senate trial “in a fairly short period of time.” — Alan He
Nadler pushes vote on articles of impeachment until Friday
11:16 p.m.: House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerry Nadler postponed the votes on the articles of impeachment until 10 a.m. Friday morning. The move surprised and infuriated many of the Republicans on the committee, including Ranking Member Doug Collins, who slammed the chairman immediately after his announcement for not consulting him on the decision.
“The chairman’s integrity is gone,” a furious Collins told reporters after the meeting. “Words cannot describe how inappropriate this was.”
Later, a senior House Judiciary staffer told CBS News, “Republican Judiciary members have complained about process and transparency, yet apparently wanted to force the Committee to vote on Articles of Impeachment in the dark of night. In the interests of doing our constitutional duty in a transparent way for the American public, the Chairman scheduled the vote of the Articles for 10 a.m. Friday morning.”
— Victoria Albert
House passes procedural amendment
11:15 p.m.: After more than 14 hours, the House Judiciary Committee passed the procedural amendment that precedes a vote on the actual articles of impeachment. — Victoria Albert
Hearing resumes after 30 minute recess
9:46 p.m.: The hearing resumed after a 30 minute recess called by House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerry Nadler. — Victoria Albert
Jordan’s amendment fails on party line vote
9:02 p.m.: Representative Jim Jordan’s amendment to cut off the final eight lines of each article failed along a party line vote of 23-17. This was the Ohio Republican’s second proposed amendment of the day. Five amendments have been proposed so far.
After Jordan’s amendment failed, House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerry Nadler abruptly called a 30 minute recess. — Victoria Albert
Jordan offers amendment to strike last eight lines of each article
7:16 p.m.: After Republican Representative Guy Reschenthaler’s amendment to ax the second article of impeachment failed along party lines, Representative Jim Jordan introduced an amendment to cut off the last eight lines of each article. —Victoria Albert
Reschenthaler introduces amendment to ax article on obstruction
5:29 p.m.: Republican Representative Guy Reschenthaler of Pennsylvania introduced an amendment to strike Article II, the article dealing with obstruction of Congress.
He argued that impeaching the president for failing to cooperate with the impeachment inquiry would set a dangerous precedent, and said Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff was the one actually obstructing Congress.
It’s the fourth Republican amendment of the day. — Stefan Becket
Amendment on Ukraine aid rejected
5:25 p.m.: The committee rejected the third Republican amendment of the day, voting 23 to 17 along party lines against language noting the military aid package to Ukraine was released in September. — Stefan Becket
Democratic rep undecided on impeachment vote
5:08 p.m.: Democratic Representative Josh Gottheimer told CBS News he’s undecided on whether he’ll vote to impeach the president.
“I made a commitment to my district from the moment that this began, that I’m going to focus on all the facts,” Gottheimer said at the Capitol. “I’m going to read everything. Watch all the testimony from the hearings and read the transcripts, consult with scholars, and of course, talk to my constituents, and then make an ultimate decision.”
Gottheimer, who flipped a Republican seat in 2016, was one of about 10 lawmakers who floated the idea of censuring Mr. Trump as an alternative to impeachment earlier this week.
He said he hasn’t felt pressured by Democratic leaders or members of his caucus to vote for the articles.
“I think leadership wants all of us to do best for our district and make a decision based on the facts,” he said. — Julia Boccagno
Biggs proposes amendment to note release of Ukraine aid
3:47 p.m.: Republican Congressman Andy Biggs proposed an amendment to add language to the articles noting that military aid to Ukraine was eventually released. Democrats argue that evidence shows Mr. Trump withheld the aid over the summer to pressure Ukraine to open investigations into Burisma and the Bidens.
The assistance was released in September. Biggs’ amendment adds language to say that the aid was released with days of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky signing two anti-corruption measures into law.
“The administration never intended to or actually violated the law,” Biggs said, explaining his amendment. — Grace Segers
Amendment to insert a reference to Burisma fails
3:40 p.m.: An amendment proposed by Republican Congressman Matt Gaetz to insert language about Hunter Biden and Burisma into the articles failed along party lines.
The vote was 23 to 17.
The amendment would have inserted a reference to “a well-known corrupt company, Burisma, and its corrupt hiring of Hunter Biden,” the former vice president’s son. — Grace Segers
Jeffries slams Republicans for standing by Trump
3:32 p.m.: Democratic Congressman Hakeem Jeffries condemned Republicans for supporting Mr. Trump despite his consistent attacks on targets like the late Senator John McCain and 16-year-old climate activist Greta Thunberg, who was just named Time magazine’s person of the year.
“He even attacked today a 16-year-old teenage activist, Greta Thunberg. Are you going to defend that as well?” Jeffries said. Mr. Trump tweeted this morning that it was “ridiculous” for Thunberg to be chosen as person of the year.
Jeffries also referenced Congressman Elijah Cummings, who died earlier this year. Jeffries said Cummings would be telling his colleagues, “We are better than this.”
“This is a president who attacks everybody to distract,” Jeffries said. “He attacks everybody who won’t bend the knee to Donald J. Trump.” — Grace Segers
Collins: “We’re going to be here a long time”
3:03 p.m.: Collins, the ranking member, hinted that Republicans don’t intend to wrap up the amendment process anytime soon.
“Look, we’re going to be here a long time tonight,” Collins said.
Collins referenced the annual Congressional Ball hosted by the White House, which begins at 7 p.m. Many members of the House had hoped to conclude the markup in time to attend the event.
“Don’t let anybody worry. There’s plenty of balls we can go to,” Collins said. “If we have to fact check you all night, we will.”
Hearing resumes to continue debate on Gaetz amendment
2:37 p.m.: The hearing resumed to pick up the Gaetz amendment, the second amendment Republicans have offered. Representative Ken Buck, a Republican from Colorado, balked at the idea of impeaching the president for obstruction of Congress.
Saying the president is obstructing Congress will make the president more popular, not less, Buck said, given how low Congress’ approval ratings are. — Kathryn Watson
White House officials seen walking into McConnell’s office
2:10 p.m.: As the committee stands in recess, White House counsel Pat Cipollone and legislative affairs director Eric Ueland were spotted walking into Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell’s office in the Capitol. — Alan He
Committee breaks for House votes
12:59 p.m.: The committee is in recess for a series of votes on the House floor that could take up to an hour.
Pelosi and Scalise take different approaches on impeachment vote
12:56 p.m.: When it comes to trying to convince members to vote with the party on impeachment, Democrats and Republicans are taking the opposite approach.
Speaker Nancy Pelosi told reporters Democrats will not be trying to gauge how their colleagues are voting or try to sway them a certain way.
“We’re not whipping this legislation, nor do we ever whip something like this. People have to come to their own conclusions,” she said. “They’ll make their own decisions. I don’t say anything to them.”
Democrats do not expect a large number of defections. Just two members, Representatives Jeff Van Drew and Colin Peterson, voted against the resolution setting out the public phase of the impeachment inquiry. Van Drew indicated last night he would vote against the articles of impeachment on the floor, saying there’s “nothing new here” and the articles are “not particularly strong or intense.”
Republicans, on the other hand, are urging a “no” vote, and sent a notice to offices that members of the whip team would be checking in during Thursday’s vote series. But that’s not a sign of concern — asked whether they’re worried about defections, a GOP leadership aide told CBS News they “feel very confident.” — Rebecca Kaplan
Gaetz proposes amendment on “corrupt” Burisma and Hunter Biden
12:05 p.m.: As soon as the Jordan amendment was voted down, Representative Matt Gaetz introduced an amendment to insert a reference to “a well-known corrupt company, Burisma, and its corrupt hiring of Hunter Biden,” the former vice president’s son.
To explain his amendment, the Florida congressman discussed how much the Biden son was making while serving on the board of Burisma, and read from a story about Hunter Biden’s history with drug problems.
“I don’t want to make light of anybody’s substance abuse issues. I know the president’s working real hard to solve those throughout the country. But it’s a little hard to believe that Burisma hired Hunter Biden to resolve their international disputes when he could not resolve his own dispute with Hertz Rental Car over leaving cocaine in a crack pipe in the car,” he said.
“We have the ability to show that Burisma is corrupt,” Gaetz added. “We have the ability to show that Hunter Biden is corrupt. And that totally exculpates the president. Because there is no way in the United States of America that honestly pursuing actual corruption is an impeachable offense.”
Representative Hank Johnson spoke next and carefully chastised Gaetz, who was arrested on suspicion of DUI in 2008 but never convicted.
“I would say that the pot calling the kettle black is not something that we should do. I don’t know what members if any have had any problems with substance abuse, been busted with DUI, I don’t know. But if I did, I wouldn’t raise it against anyone on this committee,” Johnson said. — Kathryn Watson
Amendment to kill first article fails
12:02 p.m.: The amendment proposed by Republican Jim Jordan to strike the first article of impeachment, abuse of power, failed along party lines. It was the first vote on an amendment after nearly three hours of debate.
The amendment was rejected by a vote of 23 to 17. — Grace Segers
Pelosi says she’s not whipping votes on impeachment
11:06 a.m.: In her weekly press conference, Speaker Nancy Pelosi said she’s not whipping votes for impeachment, meaning she won’t try to ensure all members of her caucus vote to approve the articles of impeachment.
She also said she had “no message” for more moderate Democrats who may be hesitant to vote in favor of the impeachment articles.
Pelosi did not provide any new information about who she would appoint to be impeachment managers, the members of the House who would prosecute the case against Mr. Trump in a Senate trial.
“When the time is right, you’ll know who the people are,” she said. — Grace Segers
Trump accuses Democrats of misrepresenting July 25 call
10:41 a.m.: The president accused Democratic members of misquoting his call with the president of Ukraine, echoing an argument being made by Representative Jim Jordan in the hearing room:
Dems Veronica Escobar and Jackson Lee purposely misquoted my call. I said I want you to do us (our Country!) a favor, not me a favor. They know that but decided to LIE in order to make a fraudulent point! Very sad.
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 12, 2019
Lawmakers who served during Clinton impeachment spar
10:00 a.m.: Only a handful of lawmakers on the Judiciary Committee today were also on the committee during the 1998 impeachment proceedings against President Clinton. In a lengthy back and forth, Democrats Zoe Lofgren and Sheila Jackson Lee and Republicans Jim Sensenbrenner and Steve Chabot weighed in on how the Clinton impeachment differed from the proceedings today.
The arguments fell largely along party lines. Sensenbrenner insisted that “it’s obvious to all the American public that this is a railroad job.” Jackson Lee responded that it was clear that “the president abused his power and is a continuing threat to democracy.”
Nadler, the chairman of the committee, was also in Congress during the 1998 proceedings. — Grace Segers
Jordan proposes amendment to strike abuse of power article
9:32 a.m.: Representative Jim Jordan introduced an amendment to strike the first article describing abuse of power, insisting the allegations are not true.
“This amendment strikes Article I because Article I ignores the truth!” Jordan exclaimed.
Jordan explained that, in his view, the president did not abuse his power, and claimed the evidence House Democrats included in the articles of impeachment is simply not true. Jordan insisted that if the president was indeed withholding aid for political reasons, Ukrainians would have objected in calls and meetings.
“Article I in this resolution ignores the truth, it ignores the facts, it ignores what happened and what has been laid out for the American people over the last three weeks,” Jordan said.
Representative David Cicilline, a Democrat, then ran through the evidence compiled by the House Intelligence Committee, including Mr. Trump’s public, on-camera requests that Ukraine and China investigate the Bidens. — Kathryn Watson
Committee begins considering amendments
9:22 a.m.: After Republican Ranking Member Doug Collins tried to postpone the markup after another day of hearings, the committee began considering amendments to the articles of impeachment.
Democrats only offered one amendment, that the reference to “Donald J. Trump” in the articles be changed to “Donald John Trump.”
Collins, when given the opportunity to comment on the proposed amendment, condemned the procedure of the impeachment inquiry and argued that Democrats were undermining the rights of the minority on the committee. — Grace Segers
Read the Trump articles of impeachment
9:05 a.m.: The hearing is getting underway with the clerk reading the articles of impeachment into the record. Article I is for abuse of power, and Article II is for obstruction of Congress. Read the full articles here or below:
How Thursday’s hearing will play out
7:15 a.m.: Once the amendment phase starts, any member can offer an amendment if it’s relevant to the bill. That member gets to speak for five minutes in support, and another member can speak for five minutes in opposition. At this point, any member of the committee may move to “strike the last word,” which allows them five minutes to weigh in on the amendment at hand. In theory, this means there could be more than three hours of debate on every amendment offered, but that appears unlikely.
After debate, amendments will receive either a voice or roll call vote — likely the latter — where the committee clerk will read each name and allow the member to vote yea or nay. Those votes are in addition to any other procedural motions — “points of order” — that Republicans raise, which could also receive roll call votes. — Rebecca Kaplan
Full House impeachment vote likely next week
6:30 a.m.:Leaving a meeting in her office on Wednesday, Pelosi and two of her chairmen, Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff and Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerry Nadler, confirmed the House will vote on each article of impeachment separately, meaning there will be one vote on Article I, abuse of power, and a second vote on Article II, obstruction of Congress.
Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, who controls the floor schedule, said they are still working on which day the vote will take place. — Kimberly Brown and Lauren Peller
What happened at Wednesday’s hearing
5:45 a.m.: At Wednesday’s hearing, many Democrats used personal anecdotes to defend the value of following and defending the rule of law. Republicans expressed outrage at the process and alleged that the proceedings have been based off hearsay. They also continued to criticize House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff, and argued he should testify before the committees. — Victoria Albert
How to watch the markup hearing
- Date: Wednesday, December 11, and Thursday, December 12, 2019
- Time: Wednesday at 7 p.m. ET; Thursday at 9 a.m.
- Who: The House Judiciary Committee
- Online stream: CBSN, in the player above and on your mobile or streaming device
