Rep. Justin Amash (I-Mich.) said in a speech during the impeachment debate Wednesday that President Trump's alleged abuse of power to solicit foreign interference in a U.S. election is "precisely the type of conduct the framers of the Constitution intended to remedy through the power of impeachment."
Why it matters: Amash is one of the most conservative members of the House. He left the Republican Party earlier this year over his opposition to the GOP's refusal to support an impeachment inquiry into Trump's dealings with Ukraine.
Civil rights icon Rep. John Lewis (D-Ga.) gave an impassioned speech during the House's impeachment debate on Wednesday, urging his fellow congressmen to follow their "moral obligation" to respond to President Trump's constitutional abuses for the sake of their children.
Why it matters: Lewis is among the most influential members of the House. His decision to come out in favor of an impeachment inquiry in September was seen as one of several significant turning points.
House Judiciary Chairman Jerry Nadler (D-N.Y.) said in an impeachment debate Wednesday that he is "deeply concerned that any member of the House would spout Russian propaganda on the floor of the House," referencing a preceding speech by Rep. Louie Gohmert (R-Texas).
In six months, a phone call between President Trump and Ukraine's president escalated into a full-blown crisis that is culminating in Trump's impeachment.
What's next: Assuming the House approves articles of impeachment later tonight, Trump will face a trial in the Senate next month — which is likely to end in his acquittal, since Senate Republicans have already been openly dismissive about the merits of the case against him.
House Judiciary ranking member Doug Collins (R-Ga.) accused Democrats of running a "sham investigation" in the opening moments of the House's formal debate on impeachment Wednesday, claiming President Trump committed "no crimes" and that the facts do not support the case against him.
Why it matters: It's inevitable that the House will approve articles of impeachment at the conclusion of the debate, but Collins could be selected to defend the president in the Senate's impeachment trial. His opening statement provides a window into the defense that Republicans have mounted.
Mike Bloomberg is hardly a Democratic Party darling, but one of his former campaign managers believes he's still a smart bet to win its presidential nomination. Dan digs in with Bradley Tusk, venture capitalist, philanthropist, political strategist and the campaign manager for Bloomberg's successful 2009 mayoral re-election.
Speaker Nancy Pelosi opened the House's formal debate on impeaching President Trump on Wednesday, stating on the floor: "It is a matter of fact that the president is an ongoing threat to our national security and the integrity of our elections, the basis of our democracy."
Freshman New Jersey Rep. Jeff Van Drew told CNN's Manu Raju on Wednesday that he plans to vote against both articles of impeachment against President Trump as a Democrat.
Why it matters: A White House official told Axios' Jonathan Swan that Van Drew is expected to flip parties and become a Republican soon. Van Drew's statement ensures that House Democrats will have at least one defector Wednesday in the full House vote. But Democratic members and committee staffers have told Axios' Alayna Treene they expect four to six moderate Democrats to break ranks and vote against impeaching Trump.
Eight staffers, two advisers and the entire re-election campaign team serving freshman Rep. Jeff Van Drew (D-N.J.) have resigned ahead of his expected switch to the Republican Party over the impeachment inquiry.
Driving the news: Van Drew, a moderate Democrat, said this month that he planned to oppose articles of impeachment against President Trump. On Saturday, a White House official told Axios' Jonathan Swan that Van Drew planned to switch parties over the matter.
More than 200 former staffers that worked in former President Barack Obama's campaigns and administration signed a letter endorsing Elizabeth Warren's 2020 presidential run, CNN reports.
Why it matters: Several other top-tier Democratic presidential candidates — especially Joe Biden and Pete Buttigieg — are also doing their best to win over Obama's political coalition. It's worth noting that Warren's list of endorsement does not include any former Cabinet-level officials from the Obama administration, while Biden has secured a number of such endorsements.
A judge in New York on Wednesday dismissed the Manhattan district attorney's fraud and conspiracy charges against former Trump campaign manager Paul Manafort, citing the state's "double jeopardy" laws, CNBC reports.
The big picture: Manafort is serving more than seven years in prison for federal financial crimes stemming from special counsel Robert Mueller's Russia investigation. He was indicted for mortgage fraud in New York immediately after receiving his federal sentence — charges that would be "pardon-proof" — but the judge ruled that he could not be tried twice for the same crimes. Manafort did not attend the hearing after suffering from a reported "cardiac event."
Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) announced Wednesday that she'll seek re-election for a fifth term in 2020, AP reports.
Why it matters: The campaign is projected to be one of the most expensive races in Maine history, as Democrats believe the centrist's seat is vulnerable.
So far, 28 of the 31 moderate Democrats who represent districts that President Trump won in 2016 have announced they will back Trump's impeachment on Wednesday, despite fears that their votes could put their seats at risk in 2020.
The big picture: Democratic members and committee staffers told Axios' Alayna Treene they expect four to six moderate Democrats to break ranks and vote against the articles.
To counterprogram impeachment coverage in prime time, President Trump and Vice President Pence will appear together this evening at a "Merry Christmas Rally" thrown by Trump's re-election campaign in Battle Creek, Mich.
Why it matters: Trump's re-election campaign and the RNC have been working together for months to strike back against impeachment and use it to augment fundraising.
Ahead of today's historic House vote to impeach Donald John Trump, he dispatched a seething six-page letter to Speaker Nancy Pelosi contending that a Democratic "partisan attempted coup" had treated him worse than "those accused in the Salem Witch Trials." She told reporters at the Capitol that the letter was "really sick."
Why it matters: The bitter exchange is a fitting denouement for the 86-day impeachment inquiry, which changed few minds in the country — and none at the Capitol.
Congress is set to pass a budget doubling down on a years-long trend of increasing clean-energy funding, despite President Trump's repeated attempts to cut spending.
Driving the news: The spending bill the House passed on Tuesday would increase energy research spending nearly 14% compared to this year’s levels and more than 50% compared to 2014.
Protesters rallied across the U.S. Tuesday evening to call for President Trump's removal from office, on the eve of the full House vote on impeachment articles.
The big picture: A coalition of liberal groups including MoveOn.org and Indivisible organized the events, which 200,000 people had pledged to attend, according to the "Impeach and Remove" protest movement website. Trump Republican primary challenger and former Massachusetts Gov. Bill Weld attended the Boston rally, per the Boston Herald.
Former FBI lawyer Lisa Page addressed on MSNBC's "'The Rachel Maddow Show" the text message exchange with ex-Bureau counterintelligence deputy head Peter Strzok on an "insurance policy" on President Trump, saying it was "an analogy."
President Trump slashed Medicaid funding for Puerto Rico during budget negotiations on a federal spending deal put forth in Congress this week, Politico reports.
Why it matters: Puerto Rico is now slated to receive $5.7 billion in Medicaid funds over two years, rather than $12 billion over four years earmarked by a House subcommittee. The island's Medicaid program has been consistently on the brink of nonexistence and relying on short-term funding extensions.
Speaker Nancy Pelosi addressed her fellow Democrats in a letter on Tuesday evening, ahead of Wednesday's full House vote to approve the articles of impeachment against President Trump.
Driving the news: Trump wrote a blistering letter to Pelosi on Tuesday that doubled as his own formal statement on impeachment, arguing that “more due process was afforded to those accused in the Salem Witch Trials."
