From the moment Donald Trump was elected on November 8th, 2016, impeachment has been front and center in American politics. From Russian interference in the 2016 election and tax returns to, most recently, the Ukraine scandal, The Trump administration has been confronted by issues since its beginning.  

All of these, so far, have resulted in dead ends for impeachment hopefuls. Robert Mueller investigated the Russian interference and brought forth an inconclusive verdict. Trump has had various wins in courts protecting his tax returns, most recently in California, where a district judge shot down a law blocking Trump from the ballot if he failed to turn over his tax returns. These issues, with their inconsistencies, failed to rally much support, public or in the Democrat controlled House of Representatives.  

However, once talks of impeachment died down, the Ukrainian scandal broke. A whistleblower came forward claiming Trump pressured the Ukraine during a July phone call, by withholding congressionally approved military aid, to investigate political rival, Former Vice President Joe Biden and his son, Hunter Biden.  

Trump alleges the Former Vice President used his position to force the official to be fired to better Barisma Holdings, a natural gas company that his son works for. However, an investigation in 2015 couldn’t prove any wrongdoing by the Bidens.  

The whistleblower’s complaint and the transcript of the call were withheld from Congress, the first of which being required by law to be turned over, prompting Democratic leaders in the House opened an impeachment inquiry into the President and a 100-0 vote in the Senate demanding the whistleblower complaint be released.  

“The actions of the Trump presidency have revealed the dishonorable fact of the president’s betrayal of his oath of office, betrayal of our national security and betrayal of the integrity of our elections,” Speaker of the House, Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), said as she announced the impeachment inquiry.  

Once the announcement came out, droves of Democrats in the House came out in support of impeachment. According to statements collected by the “New York Times,” 225 democrats and 1 republican-turned-independent, totaling well over the 218 votes needed for a majority, support impeaching President Trump.  

However, without holding a vote of the entire House to initiate the inquiry, Pelosi broke precedent. In all other cases of impeachment inquires, the entire House has voted to launch it. 

House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) has called Pelosi’s move an “abuse of power” and has called for a full House vote.  

As of now, however, the House is moving forward with the inquiry, investigating the President’s affairs in committees.  

The White House has stayed far from silent in dealing with questions of impeachment. President Trump has taken to twitter, declaring, “PRESIDENTIAL HARRASSMENT,” as well as calling for the resignation of Intelligence Committee Chair, Congressmen Adam Schiff (D-CA), due to his avid role in the impeachment inquiry.  

“But most importantly here,” Schiff said on twitter, “(Trump’s words) endanger our country.”