House Votes on Impeachment Rules

By Franchetta Groves
The United States House of Representatives recently voted on and passed a resolution which formalized the impeachment of President Donald Trump. This vote, taken on October 31, was one which was completely along party lines and had the support of zero Republicans in the House, which has led to differing opinions between Catholic University students.

The resolution outlines the procedural rules that the House must follow in the impeachment inquiry. Many Republicans are upset as they feel the rules are unfair to them as only the minority party is required to write a detailed description of why a witness should be subpoenaed. 

All but two Democrats, Reps. Jeff Van Drew (NJ 2nd District) and Collin Peterson (MN 7th District), voted to pass the resolution. However, even without Republican support the Democrats will still be able to impeach President Trump, as they have a majority in the house. Yet with Republicans having the majority in the Senate, it is unknown if there will be enough support in the Senate to remove Trump from office. Sixty-seven senators would need to support removal, meaning twenty Republican Senators and all Democratic Senators would need to find Trump guilty of impeachable offenses for him to be removed.

Republican Senators such as Mitt Romney (UT) and Susan Collins (ME), have expressed their concerns over President Trump’s interactions with foregin countries. While neither have come forth in full support of impeachment, it shows the possibility of some Republicans moving towards support of Impeachment. 

The impeachment inquiry will investigate whether or not Donald Trump committed the act of bribery, an impeachable offense, in his phone call with President Zelenksy of Ukraine. During the phone call, President Trump discussed withholding aid from Ukraine, which many interpret as bribery. 

Some see the vote on impeachment as a necessary and plausible process for any incongruencies of political leadership. 

“The American people must understand: impeachment is not something to celebrate or cheer,” commented freshman Juan Carlos Mora. “This is a sober and meticulous review of the state of our union and the office of the presidency.” 

To others, Trump’s impeachment is viewed as simply being a partisan tool used to take down President Trump unfairly.

“I think this impeachment process is simply the continuing of the Democrats’ crusade to remove the President that started the day he got elected,” said freshman Catriona Fee. “It’s been clear from the start that Democrats are willing to do anything to remove him, regardless of if he has done anything wrong.”

Many of the policy decisions of the Trump administration — both internationally and domestically — have led constituents to grow more suspicious of the president’s abuse of power. 

“I take grave issue with the President’s foreign policy with our Kurdish allies, his attacks on the transgender community, and his conduct with the Ukranian government,” Mora explained. “As Americans we must allow the Constitution to execute its functions, as it has for the last 230 years and bring a light to Washington D.C. so often overshadowed by partisan divide.”