US House impeaches Trump

The US House of Representatives impeached US President Donald Trump Wednesday night on accusations he abused the power of the presidency to benefit himself politically and then obstructed congressional efforts to investigate his actions.

It is unclear how quickly the process moves to the Senate for a trial likely to end with Trump's acquittal by the majority-Republican body.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has said the trial would be a top priority in January, and he planned to speak about the impeachment Thursday morning on the Senate floor.

Before the Senate takes up the matter, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi must transmit the articles of impeachment, and shortly after the vote Wednesday night she was non-committal about the timing. She said she wants to see more from Senate leaders about how they plan to conduct the trial before the House chooses who will act as prosecutors.

On a near straight party-line vote, the Democrat-controlled House approved two articles of impeachment against Trump, a Republican, making him only the third US president to be impeached in the country's 243-year history.