While President Donald Trump is hosting a 2020 campaign rally today in Michigan, the House is voting on his impeachment. It’s possible that the two could happen around the same time today. Here’s what you need to know.
The Impeachment Vote Might Happen Early This Evening
The exact timing for the impeachment vote is a little tough to determine, but it could happen early this evening, right around the same time as Trump’s rally or earlier.
The House began debating the two articles of impeachment around 9 a.m. Eastern. House members are given more than six hours to debate those articles of impeachment, Politico shared.
The time frame for the impeachment vote varies depending on which source you reference. Politico is estimating that the final impeachment vote will be between 7 and 8 p.m. Eastern (6-7 p.m. Central), which is right around the same time that Trump’s rally starts.
The New York Times is estimating that the votes are expected to most likely happen between 4-6 p.m. Eastern (3-5 p.m. Central), which would have everything ending shortly before Trump speaks at his rally.
As of the time of publication, the House was debating the articles of impeachment. At 2:30 p.m. Eastern, the Democrats had 2 hours and 2 minutes remaining to debate and the Republicans had 2 hours and 3 minutes remaining.
Time check request from Nadler.
Dems have 2HR 2 MIN remaining.
Republicans have 2HR 3 MIN remaining at this time.
This means that we have about 4 hours left of debate time. If all that time is used, it would put the vote not happening until closer to 6:30 to 7 p.m. Eastern or later, depending on if any breaks are taken.
You can watch the impeachment proceedings and the vote below.
It’s important to note that if the House votes to impeach Trump (which it will likely do since Democrats have the majority), this does not mean Trump will be removed from office. The Senate would need to vote for removal after a trial in the Senate.
Trump’s Rally Starts at 7 p.m. Eastern
Meanwhile, Trump’s Michigan rally is scheduled to begin at 7 p.m. Eastern (6 p.m. Central.) This December 18 rally is taking place in Battle Creek, Michigan at the Kellogg Arena. (Tickets can be obtained here, but seating is first-come, first-served.)
Typically, people speak before Trump’s officially rally start time, with the doors opening a couple hours early. Then Trump speaks shortly after the rally officially begin and his speeches often last as long as 90 minutes. So it’s very possible that Trump will be speaking at the rally right as the impeachment vote happens or shortly after.
You can watch Trump’s rally live in the video below. This video will start about 30 minutes before his rally begins.
The rally is being called a Christmas Celebration. It will be interesting to see what Trump says about the impeachment proceedings during his rally.
The Kellogg Arena where the rally will be held has a seating capacity of up to 6,200 according to its website. (Another webpage says up to 6,500.) This is actually quite a bit smaller than the size of most of the arenas where Trump has his events. Because of this, it’s likely that he will also have an overflow crowd outside watching on a big screen, as happens at many of Trump’s rallies.
Although the exact timing isn’t known, it’s possible that Trump will be speaking right as the impeachment vote happens or shortly after.
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