Washington — After months of hearings and votes in the House, the impeachment case against President Trump is now in the hands of the Senate, where a trial to decide on the removal of a president set to get underway for just the third time in U.S. history.
The House formally handed off impeachment proceedings on Wednesday, voting to appoint the impeachment managers who will prosecute the House’s case for Mr. Trump’s removal from office. The managers marched across the Capitol to deliver the charges to the world’s most deliberative body in an archaic ceremony steeped in tradition.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has overseen the impeachment proceedings for the past four months, but power now shifts to Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and his Republican colleagues in the Senate, who control a slim majority and can dictate terms of the proceedings if they remain united.
Pre-trial proceedings continue Thursday. The House impeachment managers will return to the Senate at noon to exhibit the two articles of impeachment — one charge of abuse of power, and a second for obstruction of Congress. John Roberts, the chief justice of the Supreme Court who is responsible for presiding over the trial under the Constitution, will be sworn in Thursday afternoon.
