Solemnity, tension for Trump impeachment reckoning
WASHINGTON, United States — As lawmakers trickled into the US House of Representatives Wednesday to debate the impeachment of Donald Trump, the congresswoman who gaveled in the session felt the full weight of history upon her shoulders.
"
"It's a big responsibility, it's sobering, and I think the members feel that way too."
Throughout a grave and fateful opening session,
Republicans fiercely opposed to the Democratic effort threw up roadblocks to slow the process, but to no avail. It churned toward an evening vote in which the chamber's Democratic majority
Early in the day, some signs of normalcy and bipartisan decorum were still visible.
Al Green, a House Democrat who first filed articles of impeachment against Trump back in 2017, collegially stood next to rival Republicans as they recited the Pledge of Allegiance.
Freshman Republican Dan Crenshaw, a military veteran wounded in Afghanistan, made a point of shaking hands with Democrats.
But the mood soon stiffened.
Faces froze as a clerk began reading House Resolution 755: "Resolved, that Donald John Trump,
'Solemnity'
Nancy Pelosi, the speaker of the House who launched the impeachment inquiry nearly three months ago, struck a solemn figure, clad in a sober black suit, as she launched the debate.
Passions built up quickly.
"There is no proof
Her colleagues seethed over "pure partisan politics" and the impeachment "sham" bringing shame on the House.
And Republican Barry Loudermilk invoked religious imagery one week before Christmas, by saying that "Pontius Pilate afforded more rights to Jesus than the Democrats have afforded this president."
"We do not hate Donald Trump," House Judiciary Committee chairman Jerry Nadler said later, drawing laughter from the Republican side.
The push to impeach Trump has exposed the depth of the partisan divide in Washington and beyond.
Most Republicans were absent from the chamber during key moments of the debate. At one point
At the back of the chamber, a lonely figure: Justin Amash, the conservative who left the Republican Party to become an independent after declaring he believed Trump is unfit for office.
Largely ignored by members of his former party, Amash was soon in animated conversation with Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, the fiery and popular liberal first-time congresswoman.
Democrat
But he said he felt sad for Republicans, many of whom he counts as friends, because "they see and hear no evil
"I feel a certain sense of relief that this is finally coming to a head, and a sense of humility that I'm here."
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