House to vote Wednesday on sending Trump impeachment articles to Senate
Speaker Nancy Pelosi on Tuesday morning told Democrats that the House will take up a resolution appointing impeachment managers on Wednesday, according to Democratic sources in a closed-door meeting.
The vote will allow the House to transmit impeachment articles to the Senate to kick off trial proceedings in the coming days.
Pelosi did not yet name the impeachment managers -- who will present the House case against President Donald Trump -- but House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff and House Judiciary Committee Jerry Nadler of New York are expected to be two of them.
As she left the meeting, Pelosi told ABC Senior Congressional Correspondent Mary Bruce, "Yes, tomorrow is the day," but answered no other questions.
Later, she put out statement, saying in part, “The American people deserve the truth, and the Constitution demands a trial. The House will now proceed with a vote on transmitting the articles of impeachment and naming impeachment managers on Wednesday, January 15. The President and the Senators will be held accountable.”
After passing two articles of impeachment through the House of Representatives almost four weeks ago on Dec. 18, Pelosi has refused to send the articles to the Senate. Instead, she demanded Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell publicly announce the rules of an impending trial.
"It's about a fair trial … and we think that would be with witnesses and documentation," Pelosi, D-Calif., told ABC News Chief Anchor George Stephanopoulos on "This Week" Sunday. "Now the ball is in their court to either do that, or pay a price for not doing it."
Shortly after word came about the planned House vote, McConnell took to the Senate floor to once again lambaste House Democrats over what he called their “arbitrary” month-long delay in sending over the articles and again making clear that he doesn’t support witnesses in a Senate trial, comparing the current case to those against Nixon and Clinton.
“When the case was actually being compiled, mountains of evidence, mountains of testimony, long legal battles over privilege, and none of this discovery took place over here in the Senate. The Constitution gives the sole power of impeachment to the House," he said. "If a House majority wants to impeach a president, the ball is in their court, but they have to do the work -- they have to prove their case. Nothing, nothing in our history or our Constitution says a House majority can pass what amounts to a half-baked censure resolution and then insist that the Senate fill in the blanks.”
Last Friday, Pelosi finally appeared to budge, announcing in a Dear Colleague letter that she was instructing Nadler to "be prepared" to offer a resolution transmitting the articles across the Capitol, while naming impeachment managers to prosecute the lower chamber's case before the Senate.
"I will be consulting with you at our Tuesday House Democratic Caucus meeting on how we proceed further," Pelosi wrote to her caucus Friday. "In an impeachment trial, every Senator takes an oath to 'do impartial justice according to the Constitution and laws.' Every Senator now faces a choice: to be loyal to the President or the Constitution."
Last month, the House passed two articles of impeachment, obstruction of justice and abuse of power -- serving as a constitutional indictment of the president.
While conviction in the Senate would result in President Trump's removal from office, most Republicans have remained in the president's corner -- arguing that the lower chamber's impeachment was a rigged hoax.
Removal from office would require 67 senators voting in favor of conviction, constituting a simple majority of the body. That means at least 20 Republicans would need to turn against the president, assuming all Democrats vote to convict.
ABC News' Trish Turner contributed to this report.
