House is set to take its first floor vote on a resolution, which is to formalize the impeachment inquiry against President Donald Trump.
The vote is marking a step forward in the ongoing inquiry and it could prove to be a difficult political calculation, as CNN informs, for moderate lawmakers in battleground districts, though most House Democrats are already on record in support of the inquiry.
The resolution provides the procedural details for how the House will move its impeachment inquiry into its next phase as it investigates a whistleblower complaint alleging that the President attempted to pressure Ukraine to interfere in the 2020 presidential election by investigating the family of his potential political rival, former Vice President Joe Biden.
The House Intelligence, Foreign Affairs and Oversight Committees have been holding a series of closed-door interviews with current and former administration officials as part of the inquiry, a phase of the probe that is still ongoing and has already stretched over several weeks.
But House Democrats have said that they intend to hold public hearings as well and the resolution vote comes as the House gears up for that to soon get underway.
The text of the resolution lays out how the House Intelligence Committee will conduct public hearings and how the House Judiciary Committee “shall report to the House of Representatives such resolutions, articles of impeachment, or other recommendations as it deems proper.”
The resolution also states that the minority may request witnesses to be called and issue subpoenas — but those subpoenas can only be issued “with the concurrence of the chair,” meaning that Democrats would have to sign off on any Republican-led subpoenas.
The resolution says that the House Intelligence Committee will write a report “setting forth its findings and any recommendations” and that the report will be transmitted to the Judiciary Committee and be made public.
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