THE U.S. HOUSE of Representatives voted Wednesday evening to impeach President Donald Trump. A trial in the U.S. Senate will follow, likely in January. (Shutterstock).

The U.S. House of Representatives voted on Wednesday to impeach President Donald Trump. It approved two counts alleging that the president abused his power.

Dividing almost completely on party lines, the House voted 230-197 in connection with the first count, based on the president’s alleged efforts to coerce Ukraine into investigating Democratic presidential front-runner Joe Biden. It then voted 229-198 ­– with one member voting “present”  – in favor of a second count of allegedly obstructing justice for refusing to cooperate with congressional investigations.

A Senate trial will likely follow in January.

Democrats hold a majority in the House and Republicans a majority in the Senate, which will serve as the jury. A two-thirds majority is necessary to remove an impeached federal officer from office.

Trump is only the third president to be impeached, with Andrew Johnson and Bill Clinton also cited. Neither of them was convicted or removed.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, a Democrat said, “He gave us no choice,” referring to the president’s actions. “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.”

Rep. Mike Kelly (R-Penn) compared the vote to impeach to the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941. “Today, Dec. 18, 2019 is another date that will live in infamy,” he said.

The president commented at a rally Wednesday that “Crazy Nancy Pelosi and House Democrats have branded themselves with an eternal mark of shame. It is a disgrace. Democrat lawmakers do not believe you have the right to select your own president.”